Waiting to Exhale
by Ash Heather
Summary: Edward & Bella come from different worlds,dictated by different cultures and family values...he falls in love with her and would stop at nothing to make her his wife..would his love win her over? or wud she hate him more... AU/AH.ooc Possessive Edward R
1. The Proposal

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

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**Chapter 1**

It was 5:30 am when the alarm started to scream, dragging me out of my deep slumber. I reluctantly opened my eyes praying that somehow my bloody clock had gone insane and woken me an hour earlier. But much to my dismay, it was time to get up, as I had to take a shower, get changed and haul my ass to work by 7 am.

Today was going to be my first day at Volturi & Cullen Law firm. It was one of the top law firms in New York and I had dreamt of joining them ever since I got accepted at Yale.

I dragged myself out of bed and almost fell while trying to climb over my 2 best friends passed out beside me. I looked below on the floor trying to locate my slippers, but couldn't find them in the pile of clutter I had left there last night.

Ugh, so much for late night celebrations with my friends. My room looked like a freakin tornado had passed through it.

My best friends Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale were sleeping on my bed. Alice looked really cute drooling with her mouth open. I quickly took a snap with my cell and stored it under "_blackmail material_". Alice was a ball of energy slash energizer bunny from hell with short spiky black hair and pixie like demeanor which was sometimes annoying as shit and to top it off, she was an aspiring Fashion Designer and a shopaholic and was currently working at a high-end boutique.

Rosalie on the other hand was a tall blond with Model like features and looked yummylicious even in potato sack. Nobody could guess that she was a Mechanical Engineer with a belt in Tae Kwon Do until they got kicked in their asses by her.

I heard little clicking noise on my window. I walked towards the window only to find my obnoxious neighbor Mike throwing pebbles at my window again.

"Bella!!" Mike tried to shout strangling his annoying loud voice, as he didn't want to wake up the neighbors.

_What the fuck is that dimwit doing here?_ I mumbled to myself.

I called him on his cell "What are you doing here?" I practically growled and prayed he could somehow see my eye roll through phone.

"Well, I wanted to wish you luck for your first day on new job and to ask if I could drive you there" he said hopefully trying to hide the enthusiasm in his voice.

_Gag_….. like I m gonna start my day with seeing his bloody face with those puppy eyes he makes in attempt to look cute but ends up looking like a brain dead lemur.

"I m going to drive myself, and Emmett is here and you know he doesn't like you a lot." I said trying not sound annoyed, coming up with an excuse that had worked every time.

"Okay maybe next time" I could hear disappointment in his voice as I hung up.

My elder and overprotective teddy bear of a brother, Emmett's disdain for all things with dicks within 5 miles radius of me was not a very well kept secret. He always told me that I should wait till I m 75 before I let a male member of any species near me.

All through high school I didn't have a boyfriend as nobody would ask out sister of a 6'2" muscular bully who was also on the football team to make things worse.

My retarded neighbor Mike could pass for good looking guy if you were looking for a generic all American boy, tall and fake spray tanned with blue eyes and almost athletic with a Californian beach boy thing going on. The only reason I had agreed to give him my number was because of a fuckin dare.

He had asked me out practically everyday since I moved to my new house that I share with Alice and Rose. And 2 weeks ago after a night of tequila shots and 3 rounds of truth and dare, I said yes to him in a moment of temporary insanity. Alice dared me to say yes to him avenging her Gucci heels with I had broken in one of my famous klutzastic moments.

I was sure that Mike was brain damaged not to get the hint to back off after that eventful night. Although nothing had happened as we just invited him over for drinks as a part of my dare, he went on and deluded himself that I was going out with him.

I once contemplated hiring a sky banner saying "get the fuck out of my life" for him but it would have been really expensive. I kept on coming with other more colorful plans to break up with that dick head without having to sound like a cut throat bitch. Alice had convinced me that Mike would kill himself if I broke up him, and that was the only reason this gag inducing sham had lasted this long.

Alice and Rosalie were hell bent on getting me laid coz they thought I was an uptight bitch that needed to "unwind" whatever the hell that meant.

After high school I went to study law at Yale which left zero time for my love life. And just because I didn't sleep around they had dubbed me the Prude-Bitch.

My train of thoughts was disrupted when my phone started to ring, I picked up using all my energy not to swear at him coz I was sure it would be Mike.

"Hi Bella," I was relieved to hear my friend Jake's cheerful voice. "I'll be down at the entrance at 7, do wait for me" he said hurriedly and hung up before I could say Hi.

Jacob Black was one of my closest friends besides Alice and Rose. He was freakishly tall standing at 6'5" with russet skin and jet black hair courtesy of his Native American origins. He was always bright and sunny. I was more of a dark and shadowy person so he kind of complimented my personality well.

Jacob became our friend after he gave me a valentine's card in grade 5 and had almost turned into a chick after all those years of hanging out with us. His mother and mine were best friends. He was the one who took me to prom my junior year when I didn't have a date, which was very sweet of him.

We went to Yale together and both got hired at Volturi & Cullen.

I hurried up to go shower and get changed. After shower I went into my closet, and found my clothes and lingerie laid out by Alice. I put on the new set of white lacey bra and boy shorts that Alice got me from Victoria's secret. I smiled remembering her telling me that "sexy lingerie empowers women" I put on the pin stripped black suit with cream blouse and black heels. I looked at myself in the mirror. I kind of looked hot.

I had fair skin almost pale, my mother's brown eyes and brown slash mahogany hair. I curled and tamed my hair for a good 10 minutes, put on light makeup careful not to end up looking like a prostitute that caters exclusively to clowns.

Satisfied with the results, I went into the kitchen to get breakfast. I saw Emmett passed out on the couch. He was staying at our place for a few days since his place was undergoing renovations. Emmett was a construction contractor and ran a very successful business.

I grabbed a granola bar and walked out the house. We had a nice 2 story townhouse with 3 bedrooms.

I got into my car and drove towards my new office. I loved my black Escalade, which was a graduation present from my parents.

It took me 20 minutes to get to Volturi & Cullen Law firm. I parked my car and made way to the building's entrance. As expected Jake was already there with 2 coffee cups.

"Hi Bella, exciting right?? Me and you here in the real world, fighting for justice." Jake hugged me cheerfully.

"Yeah… Carpe Diem and all that shit." I mumbled snatching my morning fix of caffeine from him.

"Come on Bells show a little enthusiasm. We'll be working under top lawyers in the city. You should be tap dancing!" Jake continued with happy rants.

"Whatever Jake, we don't even know which lawyers we'll be assigned under and if they turn out to be assholes or not, and how can you be so cheerful at 7 freakin am???" I snapped at him.

"Whoa, what's up with you this morning? And I happen to know who are we being assigned to. I'll be working under Aro Volturi and you'll be under Carlisle Cullen. They both are well known and respected lawyers not assholes based on my extensive research"

"I m sorry Jake I didn't mean to snap at you but guess who popped by my window this morning" I tried to cleanse his face from my memory.

"Let me guess, the duke of pervert central Sir Mike Newton" Jake chuckled.

I groaned and we got into the elevator. We got out on 20th floor and made our way to the reception. There was guy named Felix on the desk there, we introduced ourselves and he got up to escort us to our offices.

"Mr. Black's office is this one that's next to Mr. Volturi's and Ms. Swan yours is the left one that's next to Mr. Cullen's that way you both are close to your Bosses." Felix said smiling. "You guys go ahead and settle in Mr. Volturi and Mr. Cullen will be here momentarily"

Jake and I wished each other luck and went into our respective offices.

My office was bright with one glass wall that looked over a busy street. All the other walls were beige. I sat on the leather chair behind the big wooden desk and started rotating it. I confess that I have a thing for swivel chairs. However my short lived happy me-time was interrupted by a chuckle. I immediately stopped and looked up to find a very gorgeous older blond guy with blue eyes who appeared to be in his early 50's.

"I m sorry I thought I was alone and today being my first day, I was happy" I shut up once I realized I was mumbling like an idiot in front of my very yummy DILF boss.

"It's okay. I still do it in my office with closed blinds." He replied with a chuckle.

"I m Isabella Swan, I m your new assistant lawyer, it's an honor to be selected by you Mr. Cullen." I said offering my hand to shake his.

"Please call me Carlisle, and your resume was impressive Ms. Swan, we're happy to have you on board" he said taking my hand into his.

"In that case call me Bella."

"Well Bella if you're settled in, come in to my office we have a client coming in 20 minutes and I want to brief you on the case a little before he's here". Carlisle said as he turned to leave for his office.

"Yes Mr. Cu…Carlisle" with that I followed him into his office.

He sat down behind his desk and gestured for me to take a seat in front of him.

"Our client is Mr. Edward Masen, he owns Masen Pharmaceuticals and was sued last month by 2 of his employees who accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. Now before you say that why a top firm as ours would agree to take on such an insignificant case, I'd tell you that Mr. Masen is one of the top 10 richest people in the country and his mother is a Diplomat from Almania and one of the employees who are suing him is the daughter of Peruvian Ambassador" **(hehe i made up this country to avoid offending anyone)**

Carlisle briefed me handing over a file.

I nodded and he continued, "We're going to settle this outside of courts as Mr. Masen has diplomatic immunity because of his mother's diplomatic status. The Masens are very private family and we've all signed confidentiality agreements. I expect you to not discuss this with anyone" **(i totally made up this part i dunno shyt about immunity)**

"Yes sir I totally understand and I assure you that I'll not disappoint you." I replied.

Just then his phone rang. "Yes, okay. Send him in." he said and hung up.

A few moments later there was a knock on the door and Carlisle got up to greet the client. When I got up and turned around I felt like my jaw would hit the floor because standing there was the finest specimen of masculinity clad in snug Hugo Boss black suit. His hair was an unusual shade of copper, almost bronze with deep green emerald eyes.

"Good morning Mr. Masen you're on time as usual, let me introduce to you my new junior associate, Ms. Isabella Swan." Carlisle said shaking his hand.

"Well hello Carlisle, and I've told you before please call me Edward." He said in a velvety voice. "Hello Ms. Swan, it's nice to meet you." He then raised his hand to shake mine.

"Please call me Bella and it's nice to meet you to." As soon as our hands touched I felt a warm jolt and I withdrew my hand trying not to blush like a moron.

"Please call me Edward." His velvety voice rang in my ears again.

"Let's all take our seats and discuss the case." Carlisle sat down and Edward and I took the seats in front of his desk.

"Now Edward as we've discussed before I've sent the settlement offer to Mr. Lauren Mialosky's lawyer and we're expecting his reply by afternoon today. Do you have any questions?" Carlisle asked Edward.

"No I m sure that would be the best way to go, I don't want any uninvited attention from media." Edward replied in his smooth voice.

Carlisle's cell started ringing and he checked his caller's id. "I m afraid I have to take this, my wife is in the hospital. It'll be a few minutes, Bella could answer your questions meanwhile."

"Please take your time" Edward replied and Carlisle stepped outside leaving us alone.

"So, Bella… Where are you from?" Edward turned to face me.

"Hmm, I m from Forks, that's a small town in Washington." I replied using a lot of force not to stutter in front of this Greek God. "What about you?"

"Well as you know my mother is from Almania, that's a small country in east of Europe. I was born there and then my dad who's an American brought us here to live with him." He replied and I kept staring at his mouth, he had pink and soft inviting lips.

"Bella are you single?" I choked on air when he asked me that. I mean seriously!! here we are sitting going over a case where he harassed 2 women, and now he's hitting on me….Ugh the nerve of this guy!!

"No, but I don't date." I said curtly.

"like never or people from work?" he sounded amused.

"Like never. I've just got started on my career and I don't want anyone to slow me down," I retorted.

"Well what if a rich guy wanted to marry you, and he could very well provide for you, so you won't need a career. Right?? So would you date him then?" he surprised me with this question.

"Why would a rich guy want to marry me? And who proposes before dating?" he was getting on my nerves now.

"Well in our Almanian culture, we can't date without the intent to marry." He explained.

"Well, it's strange hearing about things like this in 21st century, is this custom still followed in the Almanian culture?" I asked with curiosity about this apparently insane custom.

"I don't think it's strange, although I m also American, I find this custom very respectful towards the women where men can no longer use them and toss them in the name of dating" he said defensively.

"okay, just for argument's sake let's say you're right, but what if they don't find each other compatible? Is the engagement broken off?"

"No my dear, our Almanian men stand by their words till their last breath. They get married and 90% times it works which is a lot better than the divorce rates we have here." He said grinning.

"so how does it work? A guy just goes upto a girl and asks her to marry him? Just like that?" I asked with genuine interest.

"Pretty much yes, but not randomly, like maybe they get acquainted first, during a religious festival or through friends and family, as soon as they know the name and age, they ask the women. And then they approach their families" he explained like a teacher would explain things to a kid.

"So what happens when a girl declines?"

"Well then the guy tries to be **more** persuasive, you see Bella Almanian men are very prideful and egoistic, especially when they hold a certain stature both financially and socially they go to extreme lengths to make sure that they're not denied. I can only tell you about my family, I remember one of my cousins married a girl by holding her hostage on a gun point. They're very happy now with 3 kids." He replied with a chuckle.

My eyes went wide in horror, "but this is cruel and savage like behavior"

Anger flashed in his eyes but he quickly regained his calm composure. "But I find it very romantic Bella, it's man's primitive right to have the mate of his choosing, it's almost poetic. There's nothing savage about loving a woman and treating her like a goddess." He said in a dismissive tone and just then Carlisle entered the room.

"I m sorry that was my wife" Carlisle said in an apologetic tone.

"It's fine Carlisle I was telling Bella about our fine Almanian culture and she seems to be enthralled by it" Edward said while winking at me. "I think I should leave now if you don't have anything else to discuss" He asked Carlisle.

"No, not anymore, I'll update you as soon as I get any answer from their side" Carlisle said while getting up.

"Okay Carlisle thanks for your time." Edward said as he shook Carlisle's hand. Then he extended his hand to me and said "can I talk to you alone for a moment Bella?"

"Umm okay please step into my office, it's next door" I answered him and he smiled when he saw my confusion.

I lead him to my office and went to take my seat behind the desk. He followed inside and closed the door behind him. I began to sweat a little because he was making me nervous. He sat on the chair in front of me n sighed.

"How old are you Bella?" he asked in flat voice

"24" I swallowed air.

"hmmmmmm" he seemed to contemplating something. "so you're an only child?" he asked again.

"No, I have an older brother. umm Mr. Edward I m not comfortable answering personal questions, if you like to discuss something about the case I'll happily answer all your questions." I replied in a firm tone showing him that he's not intimadting me.

He looked up into my eyes with his piercing green eyes, smiled and said,

"Isabella, Marry me."

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**Okay this is my first fanfic ever....please be nice....and read &review.....i m open to suggestion....and the story has happy ending....**


	2. Flowers

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thanks to everyone who took time to review my story. **

**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"How old are you Bella?" Edward asked in flat voice

"24" I swallowed air.

"Hmm" he seemed to be contemplating something. "So you're an only child?" he asked again.

"No, I have an older brother. Umm Mr. Edward I m not comfortable answering personal questions, if you like to discuss something about the case I'll happily answer all your questions." I replied in a firm tone showing him that he's not intimidating me.

He looked up into my eyes with his piercing green eyes, smiled and said,

"Isabella, Marry me."

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**Chapter 2**

I don't remember the drive to home. Once I was parked in my garage, I realized that I had driven the whole way in a haze.

Just as I got out of the car, I saw none other than Mike waving at me from his side of the fence. If it were any other time I'd have waved back but Mikey boy here chose the worst time to cross my path.

"Hey Bella, I've been waiting to see your lovely face for a while now" Mike pouted.

That pout did it; I saw red n stalked up to Mike in quick strides. "Okay listen carefully Mike coz I'll not repeat myself again. We're not going out, I m not into you and if you even so much as breath in my direction, so help me God I'll shove my foot so far up your ass that your tonsils will have my shoe size imprinted on them….do you fucking understand??? Comprendé?????"

Mike started to stutter "ok-Kay Bella, mm bye". Then he scurried back into his house.

I got into my house dropped my bag and keys on the console in the foyer and just slumped in the living room's couch.

"Hey ballerina how was your day" Alice chirped joining me on the couch.

"It was hmm…. Peculiar?" my reply came out as a question.

"What happened? No good looking guys in office or all taken slash gay?" Alice laughed.

I sighed and told her all about my weird encounter with Edward Masen. By then Rose had joined us with ice cream.

"Okay so let me get this straight" Alice held up her hand. "A guy who's one of your firm's top clients is being sued for sexual harassment and is richer than Jesus, has a scary mommy and is from a country that houses deranged Alpha males, has proposed to you all the while mentioning the fact that he is genetically programmed to not to take NO for an answer."

"That's a lot of 'ands' but pretty much, yes." I was still recovering from the shock of Edward's blunt proposal while trying to figure out if he was kidding or was really serious. I felt relaxed sandwiched between Rose and Alice on our living room couch, with an ice cream tub in my lap. It was our unique way of therapy.

"Wow, congratulations honey. So when is the happy day? Please let me plan the wedding, I bet he'll take you to one of those exotic private islands for a really long honeymoon given how extra virgin your fine self is" Alice giggled.

I scoffed and Rosalie decided to be the grown up in the conversation for once. "Bella maybe you misunderstood him or maybe he was just kidding you know, just pulling your leg."

"Well I m not sure but after listening to the proposal from hell and choking on my own bile, I just yelled, _excuse me?_ And he repeatedly said that he wants to marry me and that I should bring him to meet my family on the weekend. And when I asked if this was a fucking joke, he got angry and abruptly got up and left." I was downing my second pint of ice cream by now.

"Thank God Emmett isn't home, he left for his friend's house an hour before you came and he'll stay there tonight or we'd be attending Fuckward's funeral by now." Alice started to rub my shoulders.

"Oh shit, Alice and Rose please, you guys have to promise me that you'll keep this a secret. I don't want Emmett to know anything about this, he's already over protective of me as it is, and this will only make it worse. I'll try and think about how to handle this on my own" I pleaded with them.

"Oh honey you're not afraid of that Dickhead from Atlanta now are you? Come on pull yourself together Bella. You're Chief of police's daughter for fuck's sake and you know we've got your back, I'll beat him with my bare hands if he laid a single finger on you" Rosalie wrapped her arms around me.

"First of all, it's Almania Rose." I retorted.

"Whatever." Rosie said with an eye roll

"And secondly, I m not afraid of bullies like him, it's just that I just got my dream job and apparently he's an important client to Carlisle, he might jeopardize my career and I could even lose my job if Carlisle thinks that I'll run off their golden goose. Masens bring major cases to our firm every now and then. Apparently pharmaceutical giants get sued on a daily basis." I voiced my concerns to them.

"Did you talk to Jake? Maybe he could help you out in coming up with a plan." Rose asked me.

"No I m not going to involve anyone else into this creep's lame attempt at trying to intimidate me. And we settled on his case today so I don't think I'll be seeing him anymore. I'll get a restraining order or something if I see him outside my office. Now can we please talk about something other than mentally deranged dicks?" I shrugged.

We had been in the same position since I came back from my craptastic first day NO thanx to Fuckward. After he had left my office I got buried in tones of files that needed to be reviewed and filed in right order and that left me fatigued.

Thankfully over the next few minutes, the conversation moved away from me and onto Alice and Rose's plans on getting laid on the weekend, they were single for a while now and it was getting on their nerves. We decided on getting Chinese take out for dinner and went into our rooms to get ready for bed.

Two hours later we were all in our pajamas on the couch. I had my almost tattered copy of "pride and prejudice" in my hand, rose was going through a cars magazine and Alice was busy on her laptop.

"Wow, oh my God Bella, you didn't tell me what a hot piece of man candy that creep is." Alice suddenly squealed giving me a cardiac arrest.

"Who is hot? Show me!!" Rose almost knocked me off the couch trying to get to look at her laptop.

They both started giggling like morons, and I decided to see the pics myself. Apparently Alice had googled Edward's name and these pics came up. It looked like some kind of charity ball event and Edward was standing with an older woman who must be his mom because she had the same green eyes.

In one picture, he looked down right delectable in navy blue suit with white button down shirt. His hair was in same messy style he was sporting in the office today. I started to drool imagining his hands on me then I suddenly remembered how arrogant that little cocky creep was and that stopped my mind from going into the gutter.

"My my, Bella are you sure that you don't want this fine piece of ass all for yourself??" Alice smirked and Rose was laughing out loud by now.

"Fuck you both. You guys are supposed to be my friends standing by me when creeps like him plan on pranking me." I spat and got up to leave.

"Oh c'mon Bella don't be like that. You know we were kidding. You're not only our best friend, you're our family. In fact you both are the only family I have" Alice's eyes started to well up and I felt like shit on hurting her feelings. She had lost her parents in a car accident 3 years ago and I and Rose were the only ones she had as family.

"God, I m sorry Ally I didn't mean to upset you. I m just tired and grouchy from a long day and that douche bag's fucking mind games. I'll make it up to you, how about we go to that Italian restaurant you love so much on this weekend? What do you say?" I tried to apologize.

Alice quickly perked up "Oh Bella you have to let me dress you, you will right?" and cue the puppy dog eyes…

"Damnit" I said under my breath. "Ok Alice you can dress me as long as I don't end up looking like one of those bitches and hoes who have rap songs dedicated to their half covered asses."

"Deal!!" Alice shook hands with me.

"So guess who finally got dumped today?" I sang happily.

"No!! You did it? What did he say? Did he threaten to kill himself? Oh no….will we read about Mike's suicide in tomorrow's paper?" Alice again voiced her thoughts on Mike being suicidal. "By the way Bella I _foresee_ that we all will find love soon in the most unexpected places."

"ugh…" Rose and I groaned in unison. Alice and her predictions…they often came true but on most counts they got us into trouble. Like the time she predicted that my parents would be away on the weekend and we threw a big party in my house only to be intercepted by my dad while I was making out with Rose after a lost bet. Long story short, my dad never left me alone with Rose again.

After half an hour we all retired to our rooms. We all had jobs in the morning. Alice and Rose had skipped their offices today in honor of last night's hangover.

I was dead on my feet and was asleep as soon as my head hit my soft pillow.

I woke up to delicious coffee's smell and hushed voices of my friends coming from the kitchen. I got up and made it down to kitchen.

"Good morning ladies" I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee. Then I noticed a big crystal vase filled with white long stem roses perched on the kitchen counter.

"It came in at 6 in the morning, it's for you." Rose pointed to the card that was tucked in the roses.

Rose and Alice suddenly went quiet. I went to the counter and took a closer look at the flowers. I took out the folded card. There was something written on it in French in an elegant script.

_Bella!_

_Tu es pour moi la plus belle_

_Je veux être avec toi_

I held the card in my hands staring at it for a few minutes. These two sentences were the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. But instead of being happy, I felt like my heart would break out of my chest. I looked at the delivery shop's number printed on the back of card and made a mental note to call them during lunch and find out who these flowers were from.

I had decided right then that if these were from Edward, I'd talk to Carlisle right away but the very next second I decided against it. I cannot afford to appear a fragile and weak woman in my male dominant work field.

"What does it say?" Alice finally broke the silence.

"I m going to get ready, and I'll bring dinner today from that Thai place next to my office. I'll be home by 6". I handed the card to Alice and left to get ready for my day.

Rose blocked my way. "Bella we know it's that dick head. I'll personally go to this shop and find out who sent those. Once it's confirmed it's him, I'll kill him then Alice will help me hide his dead body. And then we'll send these flowers to scary diplomat mommy."

I chuckled and hugged Rosie. "Now that it's settled we really need to get going or we'll be late."

Within an hour we were all out on our ways. I drove all the way with butterflies in my stomach. After reaching the firm and parking my car, I entered the lobby. I spotted Jake from far. He had 2 coffee cups.

I went up to him and hugged him. "Jake you're awesome!"

"Wow, bipolar much" Jake chuckled. "Yesterday you looked like you were out for blood, today you look like my old Bella who used to make mud pies with me"

I laughed and made way to the elevator.

We both got really busy as soon as we stepped foot into our offices. Carlisle had a meeting with a new client today, a woman who was suing her insurance company. I was swamped in work and lost track of time.

My cell started ringing. The number on Id was unknown, I picked it up anyways.

"Hi Bella" his smooth velvety voice felt like music to my ears and the butterflies came with a vengeance to my belly and I almost forgot to breath.

"Yes, who is this?" I pretended that I didn't recognize his voice.

"You can pretend all you want love, but I heard your breath getting hitched when you heard my voice" He chuckled. _Damnit._ "I wanted to know if you're free for lunch, there's this nice bistro nearby I wanted to take you and I also wanted to know if you liked the flowers I sent you love."

"Mr. Masen I m not free for lunch and let me assure you that even if I were free I wouldn't have gone out with you. As for the flowers, this better be the last time you pull a stunt like this. I m not one of your bimbos, I m Isabella Swan and you sir are not going to scare me." I spat at him.

"Well, you really shouldn't have said that you know" he sounded amused. "We can have lunch any other time and no this won't be the last time I sent you flowers you're my almost-fiancé get used to it. And yeah my mother will come to meet you tomorrow during your lunch time and don't worry she won't just barge in, she has made an appointment to see you."

I was speechless, how dare he? Treat me like some brainless twit he shags around.

He continued with his rants "Bella did you check if your parents are free this weekend, and we also have an appointment with the jewelers to get you an engagement ring, I m afraid with my spontaneity I forgot about the ring. I thought you might like to get something of your own choice. Bella are you still there?"

I suddenly snapped back into reality "Mr. Masen if you called me again or sent me anything, I'll go to police and I'll also get a restraining order against you. Do not play sick mind games with me. I m not going to tolerate this shit anymore" I almost yelled.

"Bella, this is not a game love, it's the beginning of our lives together and going to police or getting a restraining order would do nothing good for us. Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to aggravate or provoke me." His voice was still calm but I could detect the edge of menace in it. "Chief Charlie Swan is very honest cop, if God forbid anything were to happen to him, you'll be devastated. Cops get hurt on duty all the time Bella, a little freak accident could be fatal for them"

I was stunned, my blood was freezing up in my veins I wanted to cry but my sobs died in my throat. This man was a devil and had just threatened to get my father killed.

"And think about Emmett, he works all day on construction sites, with big trucks and heavy machinery, it's a huge occupational hazard." He chuckled darkly. His voice got more menacing. "Now love, this little chat of ours will not leave this room, you see I have a way of knowing if you talk to anyone about it. Now here is what you'll do, you will meet my mother tomorrow and you'll treat her with all the respect that a future mother-in-law deserves then you'll call your parents so we could go down to forks to meet them this weekend."

I was paralyzed with fear and I couldn't move. He was waiting for my response but I couldn't utter a single word.

He continued, "You can bring your roommates along on the weekend, I'd love to meet them as well." He sighed. "Love you've been awfully quiet, tell me what you're thinking."

What m I thinking?? Well, I was thinking what should I do to get away from him, and how can I find out that how much of truth did his threats carry. But meanwhile I should go along with him so he wouldn't be tempted to harm my father or my brother. Once I find out a way out of this, I'll strangle him with my bare hands.

"Okay, I'll meet your mom tomorrow." My voice sounded foreign to me.

"And??" he asked impatiently.

"And I'll call my parents to see if we could meet them on the weekend" I murmured.

"Excellent, now Bella you know better than telling anyone about this chat of ours, not even to your roommates, after all New York is not a very safe place for innocent young women."

"Please stop…" I whispered through my sobbing.

"I m sorry if you're upset love, I'll make it up to you I promise. Now I'll go, and I'll call you again at 9. Talk to you later love." With that he hung up.

After I put down the phone I mentally kicked myself for letting him affect me this way. I got up and went to the restroom to fix my face. I splashed my face with cold water and decided to dig up on Edward and find out how to get away from him.

I was on my way to my office I saw Jacob and Felix. I shook hands with Felix and asked them to follow me to my office.

"Is everything okay Bella? Your face looks flushed." Jake sounded worried.

"It's nothing. Have a seat. I missed you guys during lunch yesterday and today so I thought let's talk for a few minutes." I gestured to the seats for them to sit.

"So any interesting or colorful cases?" I couldn't just go ahead and ask about Edward so I decided to make small talks first.

"Neah, I got an old business man, really boring… what about you?" Jake asked me.

"Yesterday I got Masen's son, today I m free." I decided to ask a few questions. "So have you guys heard about Masens."

"Everybody knows Masens in New York Bella; they're like the royalty here." Felix quipped.

"So there're no skeletons in the closet?" I asked

"Offcourse there is, everybody knows that Edward Senior came back to states after his son was born. Then he became richer than shit overnight. Although it has never been proved but people are certain that Masen senior is some sort of mafia member." Felix said.

"Why hasn't been he arrested then, there must be someone who would come forward in all those years" I asked him.

"Yes, there were 3 different instances in 25 years where 3 individuals came forward to testify against the Masens."

"What happened then?" I frowned.

Felix took a deep breath and continued.

"They disappeared just before the trials and their bodies were never discovered."

With that a shiver ran through my spine.

_Shit…._

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**As usual please Read & Review.**

**The translation for french Quotes I used are : **

Tu es pour moi la plus belle.  
You are, for me, the most beautiful

Je veux être avec toi. I want to be with you.

**Thanx for reading my story n don't forget to review it makes want to update sooner.**


	3. Confessions and not so scary Mommy

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thank you All for your encouraging reviews. As for the EPOV suggestion by angelaEC, i'll do it in 3-4 chapters. Thanks to MissGuidedAngel for in-depth reviews and to everyone who read and reviewed my story, hope you like the next chapter as well, i worked hard on it.**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"There must have been someone who came forward against Masens in all those years" I asked Felix.

"Yes, there have been 3 different instances in 25 years where 3 individuals came forward to testify against the Masens."

"What happened then?" I frowned.

Felix took a deep breath and continued.

"They disappeared just before the trials and their bodies were never discovered."

With that a shiver ran through my spine.

_Shit…._

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**Chapter 3**

It was almost 6 pm and I was at the Thai restaurant near my office waiting for my take out order to get ready, and trying to wrap my head around today's latest updates on life post Fuckward's threats.

Three things I was certain about. One that I needed some kind of higher power or divine intervention on my side to break free of Creepward's growing chokehold on me (thanks to crazycullenfan NO.1 for the new nick). I don't think i m strong enough to bring him down on my own and could not risk involving Dad or Emmett for that matter.

Second, that a part of Edward and I m not sure how big that part was, lusted for me and this gave me jeepers' creepers. I knew where all that marriage crap would end to. I didn't want my first time to be with an out of control domineering asshole with me chained in his dungeon. Yeah I was sure by now that the Satan's spawn had a dungeon in his lair.

And third, that I was completely and irrevocably fucked. I needed a plan and fast before this shit hit the ceiling fan. Maybe I could talk to scary mommy when she comes to lunch tomorrow, but on other hand she could be the prime reason Fuckward was going all Norman Bates on my ass. I mean c'mon all psychotic retards have mommy issues.

"Swan your order is ready" Mr. Crowley's voice pulled me out of my Day-mare and I took my order thanked him and left for home.

Throughout on the drive home I planned on how to keep things from Alice and Rose. They would know that something's up as soon as they'll see my face. And if they asked questions I might spill something coz I was the worst liar in our zip code.

If Rose and Alice got even the smallest gust of Edward's threats to me they'll do everything in their power to protect me. Edward's words echoed in my head _after all New York is not a very safe place for innocent young women_. This sent chills down my spine.

I got home and saw Emmett's jeep parked outside. I parked my car in garage and saw Rose's red BMW convertible. Alice's car wasn't there, that meant she wasn't home yet.

I led myself inside but the house was very quiet. I put my keys on the console as usual and stepped into living room expecting Emmett to be yelling at some idiotic game on the TV but the living room was empty. I checked the kitchen and lounge but nobody was there.

Panic was starting to build up in me and in the back of my brain I thought maybe Edward did something. I ran up the stairs and threw open Rose's bedroom praying that she knew where my brother was.

"AAhhhh!!, Bella you're home. Sweetheart you should've knocked." My best friend's breathy voice came out more of a moan from under my brother. Thank god their lower halves were cover with sheets otherwise I'd have to gouge my eye balls out with a spoon.

"What the fuck are you doing??? On second thought don't answer that! Just come downstairs when you're ready." With that I slammed her door and stomped my way down.

I made sure she heard me stomping all the way so she could feel guilty. It wasn't that I didn't want her and Emmett to be together but that little shit gave me a piece of her mind every time I or Alice tried to set them up together.

We knew that Rose and Emmett would be great for each other but Rose always shot this idea down saying that Emmett was more of a brother to her since we all knew each other since high school's glorious hellish days with braces and friendship bands.

Alice was just coming inside when I made my way to kitchen.

"Hey honey I m home." She yelled from the foyer.

"Hey yourself sexy pixie." I then started to put the take out on the counter. "Ally I m in the kitchen, come here I've got great news."

"What?" Alice squealed. "Who did you meet? Is he tall? Dark? Handsome?"

"Nope but guess who did I catch jumping my brother in her room after 4 years of our fruitless efforts to get them together" I said tossing a coke to Alice.

"No!! She didn't! That little hussy! She practically threw a fit every time we set them up. Saying shit like it's weird and that it would feel like incest." Alice was not hat happy.

Rose and Emmett were coming downstairs to get kicked in their ass by a pissed off pixie in 5-4-3-2-

"Hi Rose, anything new you'd like to share with us sweetie?" Alice said in a menacing voice. Emmett got in front of Rose to protect her.

"Now now, there is no reason to be mad at us. This is not a fling, I love Rose and I plan on marrying her someday. We can't decide who we fall in love with. You both better deal…" Emmett's sentence was cut by Alice and my shrieks.

We both hugged Rose "We knew that you guys were made for each other." Alice giggled.

I started to tear up, I hadn't let the truth of the phone call from hell sink in completely but I was happy that my brother and my best friend will be together. She'll be my sister now.

"Honey I m sorry I didn't tell you earlier but Emmett and I thought that we should try and see if we have something so we could spare you guys the heart ache if we hadn't worked out" Rose said as she hugged me.

"I m so happy for you guys. These are happy tears silly. My brother could not have chosen a better woman. Congratulations you two." I was sobbing by now.

"Okay enough with the estrogen fest. Now where's the food?" Emmett always knew what to say to light up the moods.

We all laughed throughout the dinner. I had completely forgotten about my misery until my cell rang and I saw the number from earlier in the day. "Excuse me, it's from the office. I'll take it outside." With that I left the table and made my way outside to the back yard.

"Hello" I picked up my phone.

"Hi, how're you love? I missed you today you know." Offcourse it was _him._

"What do you want, I thought I had agreed to everything you said earlier." I was annoyed now.

"Sweetheart I don't need a reason to call my fiancé. I just wanted to hear your voice. It sooths me after a long and tiring day." Edward said in a husky voice. "I was listening to song and thought about you. I'll send it on your phone later, listen to it and think about me."

"Edward would you answer me honestly if I asked you a question?" I asked hopefully.

"Love I cannot deny you anything, you should know this by now. Ask away, I'll be completely honest and by the way, I love it when you say my name." he seemed to be smiling.

"Do you really like me or this is some kind of conquest for you, I m not a tall blond model so how could you like me with my plain brown eyes? Is it because I didn't give in easy; is it the thrill of the chase?" I asked in a low voice.

"Bella I'll be honest with you. The first time I saw you, I was besotted by your innocent face and angelic beauty. I see women all around me who are nothing more than manicured vultures waiting to pounce on men. But you were like a breeze of fresh air; your warm brown eyes looked like sunset after a long warm day. Isabella you have bewitched me body and soul from the moment I laid my eyes on you. It was love at first sight for me. I know you think I m some heartless bastard but believe me love I'll never do anything to hurt you. But what I said in my earlier call, I meant every word. Now that I know that my soul mate exists, which you certainly are my love, I cannot afford to lose you. And I'll do everything in my power to keep you with me for the rest of our lives. And darling I have infinite resources to do so." Edward voice was full of unspoken emotions.

I was speechless; his confession left me paralyzed, it was one of the sweetest and scariest things I had ever heard.

"Bella say something. I know I m coming off a bit strong but love this is the only way I've learned to love. We Almanian men bare our souls to the women we love." He cooed.

"Edward if… if you really love me then you'll want me to be happy and you'll not threaten me with my father and brother's lives into forcing me to marry you. You could've asked me on a date like normal people. I'd have given you a chance." I said in a hushed voice trying not to provoke him, remembering his outburst from earlier.

"Bella you'd have never gone out with me. I did a background check on you; you haven't gone out with anyone in a very long time. And I did ask you if you remember love, I asked you nicely that will you marry me and your exact words were that if it was fucking joke. I told you that the only way I m supposed to go out with some is with the intent to marry her and you insulted me and my whole cultural belief. But it's okay I forgive you love. You left me no choice but to be a bit more _persuasive_. Now I'll go so you can sleep. You have to be bright and fresh when you meet my mother tomorrow. I have a meeting but I'll try to weasel out of it, so I could join you two. I've made up reservations at the Italian restaurant 'la Bella' at 12pm for lunch; it's near your office so it won't be a hassle. Now go to bed my love and dream sweet dreams. After we've met each other's parents, I'd personally like to change our sleeping arrangements so that soon I could sleep with you in my arms. Good Night my Bella" Edward hung up after that.

My heart had sunk to my stomach and I kept staring at the phone ignorant to the chilling air. I wondered if I should call dad or anyone else who could help me.

"Bella! Are you done?" Alice yelled from the kitchen.

"I m coming… one minute" I answered back then focused all my energy on composing myself. I can't let my emotions show on my face no matter how much catastrophe was going inside of me.

I stepped inside and went straight to the freezer to get myself ice cream. Rose was sitting on Emmett's lap feeding him rolls with chop sticks and Alice was picking out broccoli from her soup. 3 people I loved the most were safe and happy, and I decided right then that I'd do everything to keep it that way.

"Who was it Bella?" Emmett asked.

"Hmm, it was Felix from work." I lied.

"Bella you look kind of pale, I mean paler than usual. Are you okay sweetie?" Alice chose that exact moment to be perceptive.

"No I m fine. We just discussed the case from today, a woman is suing her insurance company, she was severely burnt and the company didn't cover her basic plastic surgery cost. It's quite sad." It wasn't a lie, I did feel bad about our new client but I had started to feel guilty.

"Okay let's watch a movie or something, so you could relax a bit ballerina." Alice said hugging me.

I hugged her back "No guys, you go ahead and watch it, I have an early morning tomorrow, I'll go to bed now. Goodnight pixie, goodnight teddy bear and goodnight hussy who bagged my brother." With that I kissed them one by one and went upstairs to my room.

I took a long hot shower praying that all my worries would wash away with the warm water.

I put on my pajamas and climbed inside the covers on the bed. But sleep was miles away. Suddenly my cell buzzed showing I had a new message.

I opened it and saw it was a music file. I didn't want to play it, but curiosity won in the end and I connected my cell to my music system. Soft and haunting music notes filled the air, and the song began to play.

_I've been watching your world from afar  
I've been trying to be where you are  
And I've been secretly falling apart  
Unseen  
To me, you're strange and you're beautiful  
You'd be so perfect with me  
But you just can't see  
You turn every head but you don't see me_

_I'll put a spell on you  
You'll fall asleep  
When I put a spell on you  
And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see  
And you'll realize that you love me_

_Yeah  
Ye-ah_

_Sometimes the last thing you want comes in first  
Sometimes the first thing you want never comes  
But I know that waiting is all you can do  
Sometimes_

_I'll put a spell on you  
You'll fall asleep  
When I put a spell on you  
And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see  
And you'll realize that you love me_

_I'll put a spell on you  
You'll fall asleep  
Cause I put a spell on you  
And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see  
And you'll realize that you love me, yeah_

As soon as the song finished I wanted to cry over my fate. Only I would end up with a dickhead who'd send me the stalker's anthem thinking I'd find it romantic.

I screamed into my pillow and decided to try and sleep.

I got up at 5:30am since I had an early meeting today. I showered and went in to my closet to change. Then I remembered about my upcoming rendezvous with scary mommy and I subconsciously or consciously selected my clothes with a bit more interest than normal. I settled on a brown pencil skirt and a dark turquoise silk blouse that hugged my body on all the right places. I put on light blue bra n panty set beneath my clothes. Then I styled my hair in soft curls, put on light make up and cherry gloss and left for down stairs.

Alice and Rose were still asleep and they won't be up before 7. I didn't see Emmett on the couch that means he bunked with Rose. I wondered how many times he had snuck into Rose's room on previous occasions. Then I shook off the thought for the sake of my own sanity.

I went into kitchen picked up a muffin and left for work.

I got to work on time and as usual found Jake on the leather couch in entrance with 2 coffee cups. I took my coffee and immediately started to sip, waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

"Hey Bella, what no hug today? C'mon I bring you coffee everyday, I m entitled to a hug at least" Jake got up and gave me a one armed hug.

"Oh Jake, guess what happened last night, well, you can't so I'll tell you" I said with a smile. "Rose and Emmett are together now and Emmett also mentioned the 'M' word"

"No way! Those 2 little sneaks!! And the "M" as in marriage that means this has been going on for a while."

"Yup you guessed right!" I nodded.

"Well I m happy for them Bells, they're right for each other." Jake said as we got into the elevator.

I went to my office and settled in then started to go through the agenda for today. There was a knock on my door and I looked up to see a delivery boy with a bunch of white lilies.

"These are for you Ms. Isabella Swan, please sign for these." He held up the folder for me to sign. He left after placing the flowers on my desk. I picked them and opened the card attached to them. It only had one sentence in French in same elegant script as before.

_Tes yeux, j'en rêve jour et nuit_

I was sniffing the flowers when my phone rang and I picked it up.

"Good morning Bella, would you come to my office please" Carlisle said. I put the flowers in vase on the table near window and went to Carlisle's office.

"Have a seat please" he asked after he took his seat behind the desk. "I got a call from Edward Masen yesterday. He was asking me if he could retain one of the lawyers from our firm for his family's business and estate related matters. I offered him to setup a meeting with Jacob Black as he's familiar with both Corporate and Property law."

I could sense where the conversation was headed and I was beginning to get uncomfortable. Edward was crossing a line here by messing up with my career.

I nodded for him to continue. "Well Edward then asked if you could handle all his assets from now on. Now Bella as much as I believe in your capabilities, I insisted to him that you're relatively inexperienced to handle an account this big." He said in tone that told me that he didn't want to offend me.

"I agree with you Carlisle and I m not very keen on handling Estate related affairs either. I hope you declined his request." I said hopefully.

"Well this is where it gets complicated, he got adamant and offered to pay almost double of our usual fees. I told him that we don't want more than our usual fee and again suggested Jacob to him. He said he'll think about it and hung up. Later on I got a call from Mr. Masen Sr. I was quite surprised to hear from him actually because this was the first time he had personally called in 5 years. Usually Edward handles all the legal hassles as Mr. Masen Sr. is not well enough to deal with it." He then took a sip of his coffee.

"Why, is Mr. Masen Sr. ill?" I asked him.

"Yes, it was rather an unfortunate incident, Mr. Masen Sr. was shot 5 years ago and the bullet damaged his spine leaving him paralyzed from waste below." Carlisle's tone showed he felt sorry for him.

"Anyhow, he insisted that Edward saw some potential in you and they'd like you to handle their account for our firm. When I voiced my concerns over your relatively less experience he said that you'll have their family lawyer Tanya Denali to help." Carlisle got up and walked to the window.

"I could not say no to Mr. Masen Sr. and I've planned a meeting for you to meet him tomorrow at 4 pm." Carlisle turned around and sat on the chair beside mine. "Bella I think Edward likes you and he's doing this to get your attention. Although this account will be a good experience for you, I suggest that if you at any time feel uncomfortable dealing with him, you should come to me. You're like a daughter to me."

I wanted to hug him and cry on his shoulder but I knew better to voice my thoughts and aggravate Edward, maybe I could talk him out of this, I said to myself.

"Thank you Carlisle, I appreciate you looking out for me. I'll meet with Mr. Masen tomorrow." With that I left his room and went back to mine.

Edward was cornering me from all sides.

Pretty soon it was 11:45 and I got up to leave for the restaurant. I got in the elevator and checked myself in the mirror. I looked fine.

The restaurant was just a block away so I decided to walk to it since I wasn't wearing high heels. I got to the restaurant just in time and walked up to the hostess.

She was a blond with fakest fake boobs I'd ever seen. "I have a reservation for lunch here" I said to her.

"Under which name Ma'am?" she asked in a nasal voice.

"Under Masen" I heard a velvety voice right next to my ear just as I felt two arms wrap around my waist from behind.

I couldn't help but physically shudder under his touch. He chuckled and didn't let go of me.

"Oh, hi Mr. Edward I have your table ready, if you could follow me please." The hostess whose tag said Jessica or Jennifer gestured us to follow her.

Edward had let go of my waist and was now holding my hand pulling me alongside him. When we reached our table, he pulled out the chair for me and I sat down "You look lovely". He whispered in my ear with a voice that melted my insides.

He sat across me. "Mother is going to be here soon. Don't be nervous she's very nice and I have a feeling that you both will like each other a lot." He tried to assure me. "We should get something to drink."

A woman then came up to our table escorted by slutty Barbie and Edward immediately got up to hug her and kissed her on the cheek. The woman had brown hair with a little red in it, almost similar to Edward's and same green eyes. She had a kind face. I was contemplating on whether I should continue calling her 'scary mommy' in my inner monologues.

"Hello mother, you look very nice today. This is Bella, and Bella this is my mother Elizabeth Masen" Edward introduced us.

"Hello Bella, what a fitting name for a beautiful girl like you. Edward has told me so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you" Elizabeth said while pulling me into a motherly hug. This struck me as odd, seeing that Edward himself had met me 48 hours ago.

"It's nice to meet you to Mrs. Masen." I replied.

"Oh please dear, we are family, now that you're my son's fiancé. Call me mom." She gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek and I saw Edward grinning like an idiot. I tried to repress the shudder that overtook my body at _'mom'_.

After we were seated, the server came over to take our order. He was a tall lanky guy. "Hello my name is Eric. Are you ready to order" he only kept his eyes on me.

Edward cleared his throat and that brought Eric out of one sided stare contest. "What would you like love? They have an excellent ravioli here, I recommend you try it." Edward said to me.

"Okay I'll have mushroom ravioli." I said to no one in particular.

"Alright we'll have 2 orders of mushroom ravioli and what would you like mother?" Edward placed the order for both of us. And then Elizabeth placed her order.

"So, tell me when and where did you two meet?" Elizabeth asked as soon as the waiter left.

I was drinking water and I started to choke on her question. I mean c'mon surely she must know that her demonic child was blackmailing and threatening me to be with him.

"Well, you remember that trip I took to New Haven, Connecticut 4 months ago, mother. I met Bella over there. You know she went to Yale, very beautiful and very smart, that's my Bella. We immediately hit it off and here we are today, engaged." Edward was grinning all through his web of lies.

I was fuming inside and his mother was beaming. The waiter came back with our orders and Edward asked him to bring the drinks.

"So Bella is my son treating you right, you could tell me anything, I'll set him right for you." Elizabeth '_mom'_ cooed to me.

"Mom please you know me, I never misbehave and Bella is the love of my life, I can't even imagine hurting her" Edward interrupted my plans to take up _mom_ on her offer and secretly gave me a look that said _'you spill, I'll kill'._

The rest of the lunch went the same with Elizabeth asking ridiculously mommy-like questions and Edward spinning bigger and complexer web of lies.

Edward's cell started ringing and he excused himself to take the call, he gave me a warning glare and left me and mommy alone.

"So, Bella now is the chance if you want to ask me something about Edward." Elizabeth said smiling.

"Well, I don't know much about his childhood, if you don't mind me telling how was he as a child". I decided to go with a safe question incase Fuckward was listening in on us.

"Edward was a quiet boy, never the troublemaker. He loved to play the piano. He was very attached to my father and brother." She took a sip of her wine and continued.

"My father was a decorated war hero and my brother Demetri followed into his steps and joined the Almanian army. Edward loved his uncle and grandfather dearly. When I left Almania to be with my husband, my father made me promise that I'll send Edward to his house for all holidays so he could be familiar with his Almanian heritage. I was hired in the Almanian consulate here in US and Edward's father had a thriving business that required a lot of attention. So Edward used to spend all his summer breaks and holidays at his grandfather and uncle's place. That's why Edward is more Almanian than American I think" Her eyes were welling up and I placed my hand on hers.

"Sorry dear I get emotional when I remember my family. 2 years back my father and brother died in a plane crash. Demetri's son Marcus is the only family we have in Almania now. Edward was very saddened by their death. He was not himself after that. He threw himself into his father's business, and became distant. Today was the first in a very long time I've seen him smile so freely." She took my hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I've you to thank for it Bella." She smiled at me.

Edward came back and asked the waiter to bring the check.

After Edward took care of the bill, despite my protests, we all stood up to leave. We got to the entrance and Elizabeth's car was waiting there.

"It was really nice meeting you dear, I m very lucky that you'll be my daughter in a month." Elizabeth said as she hugged me.

"It was really nice to see you to" I said as she left with her Chauffer. After a few moments her words sunk into me and I began hyper ventilating. _A MONTH???? WHAAATTTTTTTTT???_

I was slack jawed in shock when Edward took my hand and started dragging me to his silver car that valet brought. Must be a sports car I thought.

He almost shoved me into the passenger's seat and buckled me in then went around taking the driver's seat. He started the engine when I regained my composure.

"Drop me off the corner please I can walk to my office." I said in zombie like voice.

"Nonsense love, I can't let you walk to your office, I'll drop you." He grinned at me.

"Edward, what did your mother mean when she said that I'll be her daughter in a month?" After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, I asked fearing the answer.

"Silly Bella, we're getting married next month." He smirked.

And then I passed out.

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**thanx for the awesome reviews you guys gave.... I love you all...**

**The song mentioned is "Strange and Beautiful" by Aqualung... great song...**

**Translation for the french quote i used :  
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Tes yeux, j'en rêve jour et nuit.  
I dream about your eyes day and night.

**Please read and let me know what do you think. review!!**


	4. Famous Last Words

******Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thanks for reading this story, please....please review so i'll be motivated to update soon.**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"Edward, what did your mother mean when she said that I'll be her daughter in a month?" After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, I asked fearing the answer.

"Silly Bella, we're getting married next month." He smirked.

And then I passed out.

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**Chapter 4**

I was waking up from a deep sleep. I felt very comfortable and warm, hmm probably the best sleep I'd gotten in a while. I opened my eyes to see that I wasn't in my room. This room was all blue and I was in a four poster bed. _Hmph, definitely not my room._

The first thought to my mind was that it was all a bloody nightmare, a bad dream, me meeting Creepward, his asstastic proposal and meeting his not-so-scary mommy.

For the teeniest bit of time I felt euphoric but knowing my luck I knew it would be short lived.

"Are you awake now my love? Coz there have been a few false alarms." I felt his breath near my ear and I became hyper-aware of his arms encircling my waist.

_WHAT??? HE'S IN THE BED WITH ME?_

I sat up suddenly only to be pulled back into lying position by the Satan's spawn.

"Bella, love you passed out, don't sit up that quick you might get dizzy. Try to relax for few minutes." Edward held me closer with my back to his hard chest.

He nuzzled my neck and took a deep breath. Did he just sniff me??? _Great, just great! He was going all national geographic on me now. Eww…_

I moved my hands to my waist to get his paws off of me and made another startling discovery, I was only in my bra and underwear. With this revelation my body's panic level sky rocketed and I suddenly pushed him off of me and sat up pulling the covers up to my chin.

"What the hell did you do to me? Why the fuck m I almost naked with you in a bed?" I was fuming and my traitor tears were also welling up in my eyes. I felt violated.

"Love relax, nothing happened, I just thought you'd be more comfortable this way, I swear I didn't do anything except holding you. You were very restless and when I held you, you kind of calmed down." Edward explained.

"Where are my clothes?" I was really pissed now. "Please get me my clothes and leave the room so I could change."

Edward got off the bed and only then I saw that he was fully clothed, that calmed me down a bit. He put my clothes on the edge of the bed.

"I'll be in the living room down stairs, you can freshen up in the bathroom here." He pointed to a door on the left. "Take your time and come out whenever you want. I took the liberty of calling Carlisle, I told him we ran into each other at lunch and you passed out. He asked me to have you call him when you're awake." With that Edward walked out leaving me alone in his room.

I took a deep breath and got up to change. I put on my clothes quickly. I looked around expecting to be in a dungeon but the room I was in was very tastefully decorated. There was a big mahogany desk in a corner with his laptop on it and a few photo frames. The wall facing the four poster bed was all glass and looked over a beautiful garden.

I saw my bag and my cell on the night stand. I took my cell and saw it was close to 5 now. I dialed Carlisle's number.

"Hello" he picked up on first ring.

"Hi Carlisle, this is Bella. I just wanted to let you know that I m fine and I'll be in the office as soon as possible." I said.

"Oh Bella, Edward told me you passed out. I hope you're okay now and don't worry you don't need to come in. Take the rest of the day off and rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you Carlisle, I m feeling better now and I'll see you tomorrow." I hung up after that and started to brace myself to go out and face Edward.

I took deep cleansing breaths and walked out of the room. The living room downstairs was just as nicely decorated as his bedroom. Everything was in contrast with beige and cream walls, the decor looked elegant. _He must've hired an interior designer, or I wonder if he has good taste…ugh!! Focus Bella!_

He was in the kitchen, humming while stirring something. I went into the kitchen and cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Ah, there you are, how're you feeling now? I made some broth for you." Edward looked so normal in his kitchen and that was way creepier than him being his usual creepy self.

"Umm… I m okay now and I don't really like soup so please don't bother for me." _Or on second thought I could take a bowl of scalding broth and 'accidentally' spill it on little Eddie._

"Whatever you like love, but I'd rather that you take a few sips. You know, you gave me a heart attack when you passed out. I called my doctor and he came to check you, he said you were having a panic attack and you'll wake up soon" Edward looked at me apprehensively.

"It's okay I pass out easily whenever I fall or smell blood or hear that I m getting married next month so don't worry, this is a routine for me" I tried to keep sarcasm low key. "By the way, when were you going to tell me about the happy occasion? So is it a summer wedding or were you planning on a more non-conventional wedding where you hit my head with a club and drag me to a cave to have your way with me" _okay, I tried but I can't help it._

Edward looked at me with what I assumed was an amused look.

"You know Bella, I love a lot of things about you, but your sense of humor is one of my most favorite things about you." He smiled slyly.

"Edward you talk like you've known me for a long time, but the truth is that you've just met me 2 days ago, this whole thing of you being in love with me is just ludicrous." I scoffed.

Edward just lowered his eyes and looked away and he looked…embarrassed?

"Edward is there something that you're not telling me?" I fought hard not to growl.

He started to pace.

"Bella I m going to tell you something but please love you have to promise me that you'll not freak out". He pleaded.

"Edward I think I've exceeded my quota of freaking out for several life times after meeting you, so please feel completely safe to continue." I retorted.

"Well, I wasn't lying to my mother when I said that I was in New Haven 4 months ago. That's when I saw you for the first time at the corner café where you used to come every afternoon." His voice was barely over a whisper. "I thought about approaching you but I knew that as soon as I'd tell you that I m supposed to show my intention for marriage before asking you out, you'll run away." _Yup, very true observation_.

"So I did something really out of my character. I followed you around and made my mission to know everything about you. I know how it sounds but you were such an enigma to me that I had to stoop down to stalking. And when I found out that you've joined Volturi & Cullen's, I decided to meet you." He came and sat on the stool near the counter where I was standing with my jaw on the floor. _Hmph, now the stalker's anthem makes complete sense._

"I had every intention of asking you out normally and then easing you into my cultural beliefs but seeing you face to face for the first time in your office that day pushed me over the edge and I decided to take a bit more aggressive approach to pursuing you." He then stared right into my eyes. "Bella, I've been in love with you all along, and if you'll have me, I'll treat you like a goddess with love and respect till my last breath. Please just say yes"

He looked at me anxiously.

_Hmm, I went through my Edward's checklist, creepy-check, arrogant-check, domineering control freak-check, stalker-double check._

Stalking was my least favorite sports, and my worst pet peeve. "You…you followed me?" I blurted out after my inner monologue.

"Yes, I know it sounds very creepy but you must know, that watching you volunteer to read for kids at library and your first time in court, I realized that you are the most kind, confident and brave woman I've ever seen, and I thought you'll shoot me down in a second. Which by the way, I was right about." He elbowed me playfully.

His words had an instant effect on me; he said that I was brave. And I know that my father raised his daughter to stand up for her self and I decided to be that daughter right then. Consequences be damned. And I don't think he'll hurt me if he loves me as much he claimed he did.

"Edward my answer is 'No'. I only went along with this creepfest so far because you threatened me and I was afraid that you might lash out, but I m not afraid anymore. I refuse to be a part of this sick and twisted fairyfuckingtale of yours anymore. I m leaving now, do not follow me or contact me. I'll call the cops on you this time I promise." After making my point I got up and turned around to leave his house.

I was half way through the living room when Edward grabbed my elbow and threw me over his shoulder and stalked up the flight of stairs to his bedroom and threw me on his bed. I scooted towards the head board and looked at him in shock. He looked enraged.

All my natural survival instincts were kicking in and my body's DEFCON level switched from 5 to 1 in just a second.

He just stood at the edge of the bed for a few seconds fuming. I was too stunned to move.

Suddenly he catapulted himself over on the bed and pinned me under himself. I tried to squirm from under him but I couldn't move much under his weight and he held both my wrists over my head in one of his hands. Despite the horror filled situation, my body started to tingle under his. And I felt strange warmth seeping through my veins. His face was now only inches away from me. I could feel his breath on my face.

I tried to look away but he held my chin and tilted my face till I was looking right into his eyes.

"Bella, I tried… believe me love I tried to be a gentleman and I thought if I were honest with you, you'd give me a chance. But you leaving me is **unacceptable** love. You know why?? Because I m sick of waiting for people to love me. I m sick of coming second to my mother's career. I m sick of my father thinking of me as his successor instead of a son. I m sick …I m just sick of waiting Bella. And I m not going to sit around like a dickless pansy and let you go" His voice broke in the end and he rested his forehead against mine and took deep breaths.

"So let me make myself clear to you once again darling. You'll marry me and you'll love me. And you'll never ever leave me. And if you do, I'll hunt down everyone that you care about, because I can't bring myself to hurt you. Nod if you understand me love." He sounded menacing and my body paralyzed with fear.

I looked into his eyes and nodded. Then he captured my lips with his and started kissing me.

I tried not to respond but my lips had started to move on their own accord. His lips were soft and warm and he tasted like coffee and vanilla. He sucked and nibbled on my lower lip, then his tongue pried open my lips and slid into my mouth. He moaned into my mouth and that sent chills down my spine. I tried staying still so he could get his pent-up frustration out and leave me, but he tasted so delicious and our bodies were molded together in such a perfect harmony that I began to kiss him back with all my fervor. He smelled like musk and cinnamon, and it was making me dizzy. His warmth was seeping into me and was flowing down to my core.

He shifted a bit and I felt his growing excitement on my thigh. He began to nudge my legs to open with his knee but my skirt won't let him. _Damn, of all the days I had to wear a bloody pencil skirt today._

After what seemed like hours, he broke the kiss and started placing soft butterfly kisses over my neck and my collar bone. We were both panting by then.

I looked up and met his gaze. His eyes were smoldering and dark with lust, his hair was disheveled more than usual and his lips were swollen. _Ah, fuckhot._

He let go of my hands and brought his hand to my waist then it began to travel south to my skirt's hem.

He started to run his other hand through my hair, and then rested it on the back of my neck. He was leaning in to kiss me again all the while hiking my skirt higher, when my cell started to ring.

This broke my trance and I tried to shove him off of me by pushing his chest. But he didn't budge, instead he reached over to the night stand and handed me my cell. I glared at him and picked up.

"Hello." My voice sounded weird after being out of breath. Edward started to move his hand in circles on my side.

"Hi Bella, it's Jake. Where are you, I came to your office several times." Jake sounded concerned.

"I m home Jake, I wasn't feeling well so I took off early." By now Edward was unbuttoning my blouse.

"I hope you feel fine. By the way, congratz on getting the Masen's account. Felix heard from Carlisle and told me that you'll be handling one of our top accounts. That's something Bells. We should go celebrate this weekend." Jake said happily.

"Well, I m not sure if I'll take that account, it's out of my league." I swatted Edward's hand. "Jake I'll call you later I think I have a call on waiting. Bye now."

"It's okay Bella, I'll talk to later. Ciao." Jacob said hanging up.

I pushed Edward back successfully this time and sat up closing the three buttons he had managed to open.

We just sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I m sorry Bella." He said taking my hand into his.

I shook his hand off and got up, fixed my clothes and started to look for my shoes and bag.

After putting my shoes on I went downstairs to his living room and he followed me. We just stood there with a couch in between us.

"Bella say something, your silence is maddening." He sounded hurt.

Suddenly his doorbell rang. He sighed and went to see the door; I just stayed standing behind the couch. Edward came back with two guys in tow.

Both guys were really tall. One of them looked really young, was a bit lanky with boyish looks and dark brown eyes and dark hair, the other looked older and had a scar on his face and was huge. Both of them were Native Americans.

"Bella, this is Seth Clearwater and Embry Quil. And guys this is, my Bella." Edward introduced me as his new acquisition. The younger one named Seth came forward and shook my hand and smiled. Quil also came forward and took my hand, squeezed hard and winked. Then I realized how I must look to them, with swollen lips and hair scattered like a bird's nest. Quil's back was towards Edward so he didn't see him wink.

"You two, wait here I'll bring the check from my desk." Edward said and went upstairs.

"So, sweetheart, are we interrupting an afternoon romp between you and the boss here?" Quil sneered. He then walked closer to me. "You know when he gets tired of you, I'll be more than happy to give you a ride or two." He said in a voice that was supposed to be seductive but it made me want to gag. I decided to ignore the assface. Part of being a lawyer was to know how to ignore scumbags like him.

"Quil control yourself, if boss hears you, we'll both be in trouble." Seth glared at him and took his hand trying to lead him back to the entrance.

"What the fuck Seth, can't you see I m trying to get in line for this fine piece of ass." Quil scoffed and shook Seth's hand off walking back towards me.

Edward was on the last step of the stairs when he heard Quil's crude remark and saw his hand reaching out to hold my wrist.

"Quil!!" Edward yelled stalking up to us, and pulled me back into him by my waist.

"Did . you . just . touch . Bella?" Edward spat every word laced with venom. He looked furious and was livid with anger.

"I m sorry boss I'll wait till you're done with her" Quil backed off raising both his hands in air and smirked.

For the next few moments everything seemed to happen in slow motion, you know like in the movies. Edward walked towards Seth and pulled something out of his jacket. Seth's eyes went wide and I heard 3 shots.

I instinctively covered my ears and fell to the ground. My heart was racing a mile a minute and after a few moments I couldn't hear anything besides a high pitch ringing in my ears. I had been around guns all my life, being the daughter of a cop who also liked to take me on hunts and had read a lot of cases about shootings but nothing had prepared me for the real thing.

I kept lying on the floor and after Lord knows how long, I felt like being lifted and looked up to see that Edward had picked me. I looked back and saw Quil on the floor covered in blood and Seth was dragging him by his legs to the door.

Edward took me up to his room and sat on the bed with me on his lap. I began sobbing and was shaking very hard. He had just killed a man in cold blood without a moment's hesitation.

He kept on rocking me back on forth. "It's okay love, I m here. I've got you, no one will hurt you, and I'll never leave you alone." He cooed to me. _Yeah right, like that's supposed to comfort me_.

He laid me on the bed and hugged me so my head was on his chest and took out his cell and called someone.

"Hi dad, I m sorry but I kind of had to take out Quil. – Yeah you're right he was becoming a liability. – Okay dad thanks – bye." I listened to his one sided conversation.

There was a knock on the bedroom's door.

"Come in." Edward said holding me tighter to his chest.

Seth came in looking pale and stood next to the door "Boss it's all taken care of, I had to dispose off the rug that was in the entrance. And I've gotten everything squeaky clean" He gulped and continued. "I'll send in a guy tomorrow to further clean up. You should get rid of your clothes though." Seth left the room afterwards and few moments later I heard the main door close.

Edward had started to hum while holding me. I knew we'd have to talk soon and I was wishing I was on my couch eating ice cream with Alice and Rose beside me.

"Bella, I know you're shocked but love you must understand that Quil had crossed a line when he touched you" he was rubbing my back lovingly. "Please say something or I'll go crazy."

I tried to think about what I was going to say to him. Any doubt I had about his capability of carrying on with his threats, had flown out of the bloody window. I was scared shitless for my family now.

But would he? Was he really that cold hearted? I noticed that he acted all tough and scary but inside he was just a little boy whose mom and dad left him with his insane chauvinistic pigs of an uncle and grandfather who drilled their ridiculous beliefs into his innocent mind from a young age. And seriously that Quil guy seemed like he had it coming.

But I could not play hit and miss with my loved ones' lives. I had to find a way out of this nightmare by playing along.

Edward was getting restless by my silence and was sighing.

"Yes" I croaked through tears.

"What? did you say something love?" He looked at me.

"I said, yes. Yes, I'll marry you Edward." I uttered in a hoarse raucous voice. _Perfect, just the way I always imagined saying yes to my fairy tale proposal._

And then he bent down and kissed me.

* * *

**Thanx for the reviews.**

**I'll update soon if i get more reviews and next up is Creepward's first meeting with Alice and Rosalie....so please review........................**

**To shamonti : Yes... there will be Mobward...but domward would be difficult for me to pull...and good to know you agree with my "stalker's anthem" thingie.**

**To MissGuidedAngel : you guessed right....Edward did stalk our ever elusive Bella.**

**thanx to everyone else for encouraging me and if i get tons of reviews i'll put up EPOV soonish... love ya all.....**


	5. The birds and the bees

******Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

* * *

**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"Yes" I croaked through tears.

"What? Did you say something love?" He looked at me.

"I said, yes. Yes, I'll marry you Edward." I uttered in a hoarse raucous voice. _Perfect, just the way I always imagined saying yes to my fairy tale proposal._

And then he bent down and kissed me.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Bella, Oh sweetheart, you've made me the happiest man alive." Edward said after he was sure that I was thoroughly kissed. "We'll get you a ring soon darling." He beamed. _Why not a shackle honey?_

"Alright." I sighed still light headed from his sudden kiss. "Edward I have to get home, my friends would be worried because I m usually home by six and it's almost 7 now."

"Hmm. Okay let me get changed then we'll leave." He kissed me on the cheek and got up to change. He walked into a door, which I assumed was his closet and I also got up and went into the bathroom to fix myself. I splashed my face with cold water and used Edward's brush to tame my hair. I exited the bathroom some what satisfied with my look and saw Edward wearing a charcoal grey t-shirt with a black motif hugging his torso and dark jeans with his old clothes in hands.

My eyes lingered a bit longer than necessary on his chiseled chest. I remembered how hard and muscular it felt when we kissed. I blushed and immediately looked away before he could catch me ogling him.

He pulled me by my hand and led me downstairs to his kitchen. He took a metal bin and put his clothes in it. Then he took out a bottle of liquor from a cabinet and poured it all over the clothes and lit them on fire.

"Okay, now let's get you home love, although this is your home now and I'd rather that you lived here but all in good time." He smiled and took my hand again. My heart sunk to my stomach on this latest information. _Good time?_

We got outside and I saw his home for the first time. It was a beautiful two storey grey bricks house with a huge garden and lawns on both sides. It looked like we were in one of those expensive neighborhoods where the houses are really far apart. _Ah…Good place to shoot someone and get away with it_.

As we walked to his car, I noticed that it was silver Aston Martin Vanquish.

Edward opened my door for me and closed it when I was seated. He got into the driver's seat and revved on the engine.

With the gravel crunching beneath the tires, we left the driveway behind and got to a big black wrought iron gate. Edward punched the code on the digital keypad to open the gate. I looked around and saw at least 4 security cameras on the gateway alone.

After we got on the main road, Edward took my hand and placed it on the gear shift and put his hand on top.

"What are you thinking baby?" Edward asked me as his fingers made soothing circles on the back of my hand. "You can tell me. And you can ask me anything you want; I promise I'll be completely honest with you."

I knew now that he was a murderer. But I had to make sure that I wasn't getting involved with a rapist. "I wanted to know about the sexual harassment case. How much of the accusation was based on truth." I tried to act non chalant about it.

He laughed like I had told him a funny joke. "Well, it's a very interesting story. You see, Lauren Mialosky is mom's best friend Adrianna Mialosky's daughter who happens to be the Peruvian Ambassador and my mom gave Lauren the position of CFO at our company as a favor to her mother. Well one fine morning I walked in on Lauren and my assistant getting hot and steamy in the conference room."

"That doesn't make sense, why would she accuse you of harassment if she was sleeping with your assistant?" I was confused by this.

"Well you see, since my assistant is a woman, Lauren was threatened that I'd out her to someone so she thought that if they could both accuse me of harassment, everybody would think that I m lying to save my own ass." My eyes went wide and Edward was amused.

I thought about it and it started to make sense. Why else would her lawyer settle so quickly? And both of the tramps had resigned the next day.

"Are you happy now love? You should know that I've only been to second base with a girl in high school. I was told about the Albanian tradition on my 18th birthday and I've never been with anyone. But don't let my inexperience worry you, I m very well learned and fully capable of satisfying you." He chuckled and I blushed profusely.

"So are you happy with our engagement sweetheart?" He asked.

Now I knew that this was a trick question and maybe he wanted me to respond by squealing and hugging the daylights out of him, but I decided to stay a bit truthful.

"I don't know, I've never thought about marriage before so this is all a bit hard for me to process." I said carefully looking out the window.

"I understand but give it time, you'll get used to it." His tone was dismissive.

I fought the tears threatening to escape my eyes to ask him about the wedding date. "Edward if you don't mind me asking, why is the wedding in a month? I mean we don't have to get married that early, we can have a bit longer engagement, that'll give us time to understand each other better." I tried to approach this subject carefully.

Edward looked at me and smiled. "There's no point on having a long engagement darling when we'll have a lifetime to understand each other. But the reason with the date is that I have to be in Almania in a month and I'd like to take my wife along to my homeland." Edward paused like he was having an internal debate. I shuddered at the word 'wife'.

He took an exit leaving the freeway and continued.

"As you know, my mother is from Almania and she brought me here to live with my dad. Her father and brother; my grand father and uncle loved me a lot, so I used to spend all my holidays and vacations with them in Almania. They taught me everything about my heritage and I m the person I m today because of them." His eyes began to well with unshed tears. "Two years back they were both in a plane crash and I lost the two people I loved the most. My grandfather left all his money and estate to me and I was supposed to go there and claim them. But I couldn't bring myself to go home and find that the people I loved didn't exist anymore."

I was beginning to feel sorry for him and I covered his hand with my free hand. He looked at me and smiled.

"My grandfather was a decorated war hero and the Almanian government is going to honor him in an official ceremony next month. I want to stand there with my wife and show everyone that I married a woman honoring my traditions. I know that he looks over me from time to time and I want him to be proud of me." He sighed and looked at me. "Don't worry love, you'll like it there. I have a cousin there, Marcus who's my uncle's only son. He's like a brother to me and I'd love for you to meet him and his family. He has the most adorable little twins. You'd love them"

"So, I thought we could get married as early as possible and go to Almania for our honeymoon. I've already started to make arrangements sweetheart, so please just humor me." He smiled and squeezed my hand and I grimaced internally.

I could see that he had made up his mind on the marriage matter and I decided to stay mum on this subject as you never know when Edward would flip out. Now that the issue of my impending doom was a moot point I decided to raise my next issue.

"I understand now, umm Edward there was something else I wanted to ask you about. Something that Carlisle said to me, about your dad asking to retain me as your lawyer."

He frowned and stopped at a traffic light. "Bella, now that you're my fiancé I think it's only natural that you should work for the family business, not that you need to work at all." The car started to move on green light and he glanced at me sideways. "I mean what's mine is yours, and we have got enough money to last us four life times. But I know that you value your career and independence so I thought you could work for the family and that'll also be a good way for you to get acquainted with our business. After all you'll be the mother to my heir, so who better to handle all the legal affairs."

I started to panic, partly because he wanted an 'heir', which meant I had to sleep with my deranged husband to be. And mainly because I couldn't let him control my career, that'll leave me absolutely zero room to plan my escape from his claws.

"Edward, it was my dream for 5 years to join this firm and I worked really hard to get there. I know you want what's best for me, but can you please let me do this on my own." I said in my sweetest voice and turned over my hand that was in his and squeezed his hand for extra effect.

He looked at me and nodded. "It's okay love, you can continue working there if that makes you happy but please know that you can come and work at Masen's anytime you like. After all you'll be a Masen soon." He grinned like a Cheshire cat. _Ughh…_

After swallowing the bile rising in my throat, I looked out to see that he was headed towards my house. _How did he know where I lived?? Ohh never mind!! I forgot the first rule of Stalking 101: always know where the object of your obsession lives._

"I thought we were going to my office, my car is over there." I looked at him in confusion.

"Bella, we've both had a very hard day. I know that you're trying to act brave but I can see that you're still shaken from what happened in our home this afternoon." He gave me a discerning look. "So, I m going to stay at your house tonight because I want to take care of you and I'll drop you at your office in the morning." He ruffled my hair.

I realized that I wasn't panicking as much as I expected, but then again I had crossed the threshold at 'heir' and 'our home'.

Okay, so the new development was that we are going to my home, which meant I have to think quick of how to go about explaining 'us' to Rose and Alice without letting them suspect anything.

"Edward, I don't think that's a good idea. You see, I don't live alone and my brother also pops by from time to time and he's not very hospitable to guys who want to be with me." I gave it a shot.

"Bella, you're 24, he cannot tell you how to run your life and he cannot intimidate me." I rolled my eyes internally when he said that.

"And as for your roommates, I thought you would want to introduce your fiancé to them." Edward frowned a little. _Shit...must back paddle fast!_

"Offcourse I do, it's just that I did something stupid." I gulped and continued. "The first time you _proposed_ to me, I told my friends about it. I wasn't sure if you really meant it and I had no idea that you loved me. So I was very confused and I kind of gave the impression that I was creeped out and now they hate you." I mumbled the last part.

By now we had turned into my street. Edward had slowed down.

"Bella, you're a brilliant lawyer, think of a way to rectify this. I m going to be a part of your life now and I don't care what anyone else thinks but I don't think you'll be happy if your friends dislike your fiancé. So I suggest you fix it love." The irritation was obvious in his voice.

"Okay I have a plan, but I need you to play along. I'll tell them that you've asked me to be your girlfriend and I've said yes and the reason you're sleeping over is because of some problem at your place." I looked at him hopefully.

"Okay, I can do that but I m not liking it. And you better not keep our engagement a secret for long." He scoffed.

Edward pulled over right in front of my house. I was relieved to see that Emmett's jeep was not there.

He turned to me and held my face in his hands got so near that I could feel his breath on my face. "You're my life now" his eyes were foggy with emotions. "I'll do everything in my power to keep you happy; including going along with this charade, but sweetheart this should not last long because I want to shout from the rooftop that you're finally mine."

"I know and I m sorry, but they won't understand what we have Edward, so let me handle this, I'll tell them about the engagement soon." I put my hands over his forearms praying that he would believe me.

"Wow, I still can't believe you said yes." He grinned. _Yeah, me neither._

He gave me a chaste kiss on my lips that left me all tingly and got out and went around, opened my door and gave me his hand.

I led him to the house and unlocked the door and took deep breaths bracing myself for the upcoming Spanish inquisition.

We got inside and I put my keys and bag on the console and turned towards the living room. Alice and Rosalie were on the couch watching 'love actually' for 567th time.

"Hi, I m home." I announced forcing myself to be my usual happy self.

"You're late ballerina; we started the movie night without you." Alice yelled.

They both turned around with smiles on their faces but as soon as they saw Edward, the smiles faded and they narrowed their eyes and walked over to us.

"Hi Bella, who's your friend?" Rose frowned.

"Yeah Bella, introduce us to the first guy you brought over in 4 years." Alice crossed her arms over her chest.

"Guys, this is Edward Masen, and Edward, these are my best friends and sisters, Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale." I introduced them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, Bella speaks very highly of you." Edward shook hands with Alice and Rose.

"I wish we could say the same thing." Rose retorted.

"Edward please make yourself comfortable. I have to do something in kitchen." I pointed towards the living room. "I'll be there in a minute; I have to take care of something in the kitchen"

Edward walked towards the couch leaving us in the foyer.

"You two! Follow me." I almost growled at them while walking to the kitchen with them in tow.

"What was that? Why are you being mean to Edward." I tried to act like a normal girlfriend defending her boyfriend.

"Bella, this is the same guy that freaked you out on your first day." Rose scoffed in confusion.

"Oh that? Well, he was kidding. Apparently he thought that a proposal would be a good ice breaker." _Brilliant reply Bella!_

"So did it work? Are you going out with him?" Alice was surprised.

I looked at the two of them, imagining what would happen if they didn't buy my story and decided to try harder to make them fall for my lie.

"You know you guys have always told me to do what my heart says instead of over thinking everything." I looked at them and they both nodded.

"I remember in College, when I dated that jackass James and he cheated on me breaking my heart. I was a wreck and you both helped me through that." My eyes were welling by now. Alice came closer and held my hand.

"I never trusted anyone after him. But Edward is different, I want to give him a chance and I want you guys to like him because for once in my life, I m listening to you both and following my heart. I think I like him a lot." I was in tears after I finished because I was lying to my friends.

"What about the Sexual harassment lawsuit, Bella, he could be a rapist!" Rosalie scowled.

Then I told them about how Lauren turned out to be a lesbian and when Edward caught her with his assistant, she decided that her best defense would be to accuse him first.

"Oh sweetie I m so happy for you" Alice squealed and hugged me.

"Okay Bella I'll give him a chance but if he hurts you even a little bit, I'll hunt him down like a dog." Rose joined us in the hug.

"Thank you guys, it means a lot to me."

"Offcourse silly, why wouldn't we like someone you like." Alice said breaking the hug.

"Okay let's go and meet your man candy properly this time." Rose grinned and walked out to living room and we followed her.

Edward got up and took my hand and kissed me on the cheek. "Everything okay love?" I looked at him and nodded.

"Awe! You guys are so cute together." Alice elbowed me then sat on the couch and Rose joined her leaving the small love seat for us.

I sat with Edward on the love seat and he put his hand around my waist. The similar electric feeling from the other times he had touched me, started to flood my body.

"So Edward tell us about yourself, what do you do, how did you meet Bella and what do you do fun." Alice asked using her best motherly voice.

Edward looked at me and smiled. "Well, I m the CEO of Masen pharmaceuticals. I saw Bella for the first time at her law firm and I decided to ….." Edward was going to say something but I cut him off.

"Edward you can tell them what happened. I've already told them about when you proposed to me as a joke." I smiled at him and he frowned a little but relaxed immediately.

"So, I saw Bella at her firm and I joked with her to get her attention and today at lunch I asked her to my girlfriend and she said yes." Edward looked at our audience who nodded for him to continue. "I don't do much for fun but I volunteer at the 'Dreams Come True Foundation' during my free time."

"Oh my god, isn't that the foundation that grants wishes to terminally ill people?" Rose asked with her mouth wide open. Alice's jaw was also hitting the floor along with mine. Never in a million years had I thought that the Satan's spawn would have a heart.

"Yes, I founded it two years back in my grandfather's memory. The foundation is financed by us but is run by a different management. I go there to volunteer for cancer patients that are below 16." Edward looked at Alice and Rose who were still slack jawed in awe.

"Oh Edward, you have my blessing to date Bella." Alice suddenly launched herself over us and hugged Edward who looked surprised at the sudden hug and looked at me. I shrugged.

Rose followed suit and hugged him "Okay, you have my blessing as well but if you hurt her, I'll kill you." Rose winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"I would not have it any other way. And I'll never hurt Bella." Edward replied looking at me with adoring eyes. I blushed and he smiled.

Alice and Rose sat back on the couch and Edward took his seat besides me looking a bit flushed.

"Bella we have ordered Chinese, it'll be here soon. Edward please do stay for dinner." Alice said politely.

"Alice, Edward is going to stay here for the night, there was some water problem at his place and it will be fixed by tomorrow so I asked him to stay here." As soon as I said it, Alice's eyes glinted with mischief.

"Mary Alice Brandon, don't you dare do anything to embarrass me" I warned Alice.

"Oh relax Bella; I wasn't going to do such thing. So, Edward I have to tell you that you'll have to be very patient and persistent if you want to de-flower Bella coz she'll never give up her v-card easily." Alice smirked at me and Rose burst into a very unlady-like laugh.

I was bright red with embarrassment and Edward was coughing.

I was thinking about 3 different ways to kill Alice in her sleep when the doorbell rang.

"Chinese!!" Alice sang and ran to the door and Rose followed her.

We all ate dinner in the kitchen. Alice and Rose kept making lewd comments about my non existent love life. After dinner Edward asked about the bathroom.

"It's the last door on the left, down the hall." I started to gather the empty take-out boxes.

As soon as Edward left, Alice and Rosalie pounced on me.

"So Bella you remember the birds and bees talk we had with you last year." Alice asked me in a mock seriousness.

"And Bella, do you want us to show you about 'what' goes 'where'" Rose wiggled her brows suggestively.

Alice quickly jumped off the stool and brought a banana and a doughnut and Rosalie demonstrated her 'what' goes 'where' simulation.

"Thanx guys, that was umm.. Educational but Edward would sleep on the couch." I took the banana from Rose and peeled it.

"Bella, I know you'll get pissed but I knew that you were going to make that man-candy bunk on the couch so I spilled water on it." Alice high fived Rosalie.

I was groaning when Edward joined us. "Are you ok love?" he rubbed my arms and Alice and Rose "awe'd" in unison.

"Yeah I m good we should get ready for bed, I've had a long day." I kissed Alice and Rose goodnight and went to my room with Edward.

Once we were inside my room with the door closed, I walked to the dresser and took my pajamas and went into bathroom to brush and change.

I walked out and gasped when I saw Edward standing by my bed only in his boxers.

Edward heard me turned around and looked at me. His eyes roamed all over my body and he started to walk towards me.

I kept backing up till my back was against the wall and he kept advancing towards me like a predator. He came very close and I was trapped between him and the wall. He pressed his body against mine and placed one hand on my hip and the the other on my nape. My eyes went wide and I felt electric pulse through my fingers. _Don't give in Bella!!!_

My breathing was getting shallow and my heart was fluttering on his close proximity. He looked at my lips and licked his own. He slowly dipped his head towards me and kissed my jaw. I gripped his forearms in my hands and lolled my head to the side, giving him better access to my neck.

He started placing hot open mouth kisses along my neck and shoulder. After few moments he looked into my eyes and leaned forward. My eyes closed in anticipation and then his lips came crushing on mine. I moved my hand to the back of his neck and opened my mouth granting him entrance to my mouth. His warm tongue slid into my mouth and tangled with mine.

His hand moved from my hip trailing down my thigh and hitched my leg around his hip.

The new position gave him better access and he started to grind against me. I became very aware of his growing erection. I had only kissed one guy before and I never let things go so far, so I felt that my body was on fire with this new earth shattering sensation.

The combination of our mouths being locked in a passionate kiss and his delicious body grinding against my core was only increasing my ache to be closer to him. I was panting in his mouth now. He must have sensed it because he started to push harder and faster rubbing his length onto my core.

I was feeling like I was going to burst any moment now, and Edward was also panting. He broke the kiss and started to suck on the hollow beneath my ear. I was getting close to my climax and I shamelessly moaned. This seamed to excite Edward further because he increased his pace "Come for me love, I m so close….come with me. Let go Bella" he whispered in my ear and that was my undoing. I climaxed moaning out his name and he also came with a guttural moan.

We both stayed in the same position trying to regain our breaths. Edward kissed my forehead and picked me up bridal style and put me on the bed. He turned off the light and laid behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist pulled me into his chest and pulled the covers over us.

"I m sorry Bella, I didn't mean to attack you like that but I couldn't shake off the image of you in blue lingerie from earlier today, sleeping in my arms, in my bed. You can't really blame me for it, it's your own fault that you're so tempting my love." I felt his breath on my neck.

"Edward I want to wait for the wedding night for you know.." I trailed off suggestively.

"For what love?" He teased me.

"For you know....making love" I still couldn't say sex, even after he just gave me a mindnumbingly fuck-fabulous orgasm.

"That sounds very romantic love." He mumbled into my neck.

"Is that a yes?" I had my latest blushing episode.

"Well it's more of a maybe. But I'll respect your boundaries." He sighed. "Your friends seemed to like me"

"Yes, they love me and I told them I liked you, so they automatically like you as well."

"So you like me?" I could feel him grinning.

"Yes." I lied.

I was getting very good at this, although I had to admit that I was physically attracted to him and that seemed to help my plan of playing along with him, a lot.

"Sleep my love, tomorrow we'll make plans to meet your brother and your parents"

_Shit…._

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**thanx to everyone for encouraging me and if i get tons of reviews i'll put up EPOV soonish... love ya all.....**

**Please read and let me know what do you think. review!!!!!!!!!!!**


	6. Eduardo, EX and Emmett

**********Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**When I was writing this chapter, my mind just kept going in the gutter. I hope no one is offended.**

**As usual, please review and keep making great suggestions.**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"Your friends seemed to like me" Edward grinned.

"Yes, they love me and I told them I liked you, so they automatically like you as well."

"So you like me?" I could feel him grinning.

"Yes." I lied.

"Sleep my love, tomorrow we'll make plans to meet your brother and your parents"

_Shit…._

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**Chapter 6**

I woke up the next morning finding myself unable to move. It took me a moment to realize that Edward's arms were possessively wrapped around my middle and he was holding me tightly to his chest.

The digital clock on the night stand read 7:00 am. I sighed in relief, today was Thursday, which meant I could sleep in late because I only had an arraignment at 10 and a meeting with daddy Masen at 4.

My room was lit with early sun rays escaping my dark drapes. I tried to wiggle out of Edward's hold but I couldn't. His grip grew tighter around me like he was afraid that I'd run away from him. _Then again, I've been wanting to. _

I turned to see his face inches from mine. He looked very calm and peaceful in his sleep. I couldn't believe that this was the same man who is blackmailing me and had killed a man few hours ago.

I had to admit that Edward was a very sexy and attractive man and for the life of it, I could not understand why he would fall for me instead of any Victoria's Secret model.

He looked absolutely delectable. Edward's messy mop of bronze hair was sticking out in all directions. His lips were parted a little begging to be kissed and to be sucked on.

It occurred to me that Edward was sleeping, which means I could ogle him all I want without worrying about getting caught.

I started with his seraphic face, his thick lashes fringing his closed eyes, his high cheek bones, perfectly chiseled jaw with slight stubble.

I lowered my gaze to his neck, long column with Adam's apple just above a small hollow right between his collar bones.

His chest came next and it looked like he works out, nicely sculptured and then his perfect abs, tempting me to run my hands on them, caress them and feel them ripple underneath my touch.

I was getting a bit hot and wet. Lying flush against Edward's body was definitely not helping.

I looked at his face again and after making sure that he was still asleep, I pulled the cover back a little from him to see the rest of his glorious body. I scooted back a bit to continue my visual assault. His black boxers were resting low on his hips and there was a little trail of bronze hair, just below his navel which disappeared into the boxers. His abdomen had a very well defined "v" shape. I almost gasped when I noticed that little Eddie was up, although I don't think I should continue calling him little. The fly on his boxers was half way open giving me a little peak of his length.

I began debating internally if it's okay to tug his boxer's fly a bit to have a more proper look. I had never seen "it" before, I mean not actually in real life and the pictures that Alice and Rose kept sending in my inbox definitely did not qualify as an official sighting and I was very curious.

I decided to go through with it and started to gather all my courage. Alice and Rose's words of encouragement started echoing in my mind _"Channel your inner slut Bella, we know you have one in you, we believe in you." _

"Lord help me be the person, my two bitches of best friends want me to be." I said a little prayer and started to move my hand towards his fly.

I kept my gaze on Edward's eyes trying to look for any sign that he was waking up, but fate was on my side and he was still out like a light.

_You can do it Bella!! Halfway through. Just 2 more inches!!_

I got to the fly and hooked my finger on one side to complete my mission.

"Looks like somebody wants to meet Eduardo" Edward's chuckle made me jump almost 2 feet off the bed and I was sure that I had some sort of cardiac arrest because my heart was beating erratically and to top off the sundae of my epic humiliation, my finger was still hooked in his fly.

I snatched my hand away and closed my eyes praying that somehow I could disappear into thin air.

Edward hugged me and my chest was flush against his and held my chin higher so I was facing him.

"Bella, baby you don't have to be embarrassed" he cooed kissing my forehead. "I belong to you body and soul and if you want to look at me, please go ahead, it's all yours."

"I… I..m sorry, I thought you were asleep. I was just curious…..I hadn't seen one before…. you know…." I stuttered in humiliation.

"Well I m not sorry, in fact I m delighted that you finally took an interest in me, even if it's for research purposes only." Edward had mischievous grin. "So, would you like to meet Eduardo?"

"You named your penis Eduardo?" I couldn't hold in my laughter.

"Why not? It's a macho name. Did you have any other name in mind?" Edward raised his eye brows.

"No I didn't!" I defended myself quickly. _Too quickly…_

"Aah!! Isabella I know you're lying" Edward teased. "Tell me now and I'll spare you or I'll use other methods to coerce you into talking."

"Seriously I don't call it anything" I tried to keep a straight face.

"Okay you asked for it." Edward rolled me on to my back and pinned me under his weight and started to tickle my sides. I was laughing uncontrollably.

"Okay! Okay stop it!! I'll tell you." I managed to squeak between gasps. "I called it little Eddie."

"Your name for Eduardo had the word 'little' in it?" Edward gasped in mock horror and his face was priceless.

"In my defense I hadn't seen Eduardo before so you can relax, I don't think I'll be calling it little anymore." I giggled.

"Perhaps a little one on one would convince you more." Edward turned a little and took off his boxers and took my hand and placed it on his erection. "So what's the verdict?"

Edward smirked and I shut my eyes tightly. I was shocked and speechless. I had never touched any man like this before and I quickly pulled my hand away and put it on his chest. My face was the shade of fire engine red.

Edward laughed and climbed on top of me positioning himself between my legs and began placing butterfly kisses along my neck and collar bone. _Eduardo was right where I wanted him_

KNOCK_._ KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Bella, we're having an emergency meeting on the couch in 5 minutes." Alice yelled and knocked on the door with all her might. Edward groaned and I laughed.

"What was that?" Edward asked frowning.

"Alice calls meetings in mornings to discuss matters of utmost urgency. You should get up and get showered and stuff. You can use my bathroom I'll use the one in Alice's room." I tried pushing him off of me with no avail.

"I thought we could shower together, you know to conserve water, green earth and all that shit." Edward nuzzled my neck and mumbled into my hair.

"Edward, I've really got to get ready soon and I don't know what Alice wants. Please get ready, you have to give me a ride." I whined.

"I can give you a ride right now love, and you must know how ready I m." Edward wiggled his brows suggestively and pushed his length against me to make his point.

"Please get your mind out of the gutter and get changed, I m due in court at 10. Please Edward let me go." I pleaded with him.

Edward groaned and let me go. I got up, successfully this time and went outside to the living room. Rose and Alice were both on the couch with pancakes stacked in plates on their lap.

"Hey hoe's!!" I sat in the middle.

"So Bella, we heard a bit of ohhh, aaahhh and Edwaaaaaarrddd last night, care to explain?" Alice took no time coming to the point.

"Nothing happened, we just made out." I stole a pancake from Rose's plate and started to nibble on it.

"Oh please Bella, you were moaning like a cat in labor, it must have been one hell of a make out session." Rose swatted my hand when I was scoring another pancake from her plate.

"Okay, we might have gotten a bit carried away….but we didn't have sex" I got up to get ready. "Ally I m going to shower in your bathroom, Edward's using mine now."

"Silly Bella you guys should've showered together, it helps the environment." Alice giggled.

"What's with everyone worrying about the environment." I quipped and Alice laughed.

"Bella, can you sit for a minute? I have to tell you something but promise me you won't freak out." Rose put her plate on the coffee table and faced me.

"Okay. What is it Rose?" I went back to sit on the couch.

"It's about Emmett." Rose took my hand in hers. "Emmett's business was not doing well for the past 4 months and he didn't want you to know because he knew you'd offer to help him and you know how he is with taking help from others"

I knew Emmett has some problem with accepting help when in need; it's like some masculinity issue with him.

"Ten days ago bank had repossessed his condo because he wasn't able to pay the mortgage any more." Rose continued and I was shocked that my brother kept such a big thing from me, lying that his place was undergoing renovation. "But there is good news. Last week he got a major contract for construction of a children's hospital and was really worried about how to cover the cost but surprisingly a guy invested almost 70% of the cost in return for a partnership in the business. Yesterday Emmett got his condo back and his company is well back on its track."

"All this time, he lied to me. He should've told me Rose, even if he didn't want my help, I could've been there for emotional support. I've been an awful sister." I was in tears now.

"Oh honey, he didn't tell you because he felt embarrassed. You cannot feel guilty about it." Rose hugged me and started rubbing my back. "It's all alright Bella, he's doing great now. I was planning to surprise him by cooking him dinner tonight at his place and I wanted you guys to come as well."

"Offcourse I'll come, I can even cook." I was relieved that Emmett's business was back on track.

"Neah, no cooking for you, I'll do it for my boyfriend you just bring your fine self." Rose smiled.

Edward came out of my room, wearing the same clothes but he looked fresh after the shower.

"Good morning Alice and Rosalie." He came over to the couch and bent down to kiss me on the forehead.

"Where can I find coffee?" Edward looked towards the kitchen and I got up to get him a cup.

"I'll get it myself, you have to get ready love." He protested but I got him the coffee anyways.

"Okay you wait here for a few minutes, I'll be right out." I went into my room to get showered and changed.

After a quick shower, I went into my wardrobe and settled on black trousers and a beige blouse that made me look professional and mature for my first time in court in New York.

After changing my clothes I straightened my hair and put on light make up. I picked up my cell and bag and went out to the living room.

Alice, Rose and Edward were laughing like old friends. Edward was using his hands animatedly while he told some funny story.

I just stood in the hallway looking at him. Maybe, just maybe I could work this out with him. _But he's a killer; he's involved in some mafia related shit and he's blackmailing you into marrying him. _The responsible part of my brain reminded me.

"I m ready, let's go Edward." I went into the living room.

"Okay Edward, we'll see you tonight." Alice hugged Edward. Then Rose hugged him. _Tonight? What?_ I frowned.

"Rosalie invited me to your brother's place for dinner tonight, and I said yes since you told me that you'll introduce me to him soon." Edward saw my expression and took my hand. "Is it okay with you love, if I come over?"

"Offcourse…. Definitely….. you should totally come. I m just thinking, that why didn't I think of it before." I mumbled like a moron.

"Alright, Rose, I'll be there by 7-ish. Call me if you want me to pick something on the way." I said walking out the door with Edward.

Once outside the door, Edward led me to his car and opened the door for me. He got in and started the car.

"I won't be going to my office, just drop me at the courthouse." I told Edward.

"What time would you get off?" Edward took my hand and placed it on his lap and held it.

"Well, arraignments don't take long and I'll get off by 11 max. Why do you ask?"

"I'll pick you up at 11, you don't have a car remember." He smiled.

"It's okay; I'll get Felix to drive me to the office. And anyways I don't have any work at the office today besides the meeting with your dad at 4." I told him and got my cell out to call Felix to remind him about the case files.

"Bella, I'll ask my dad to cancel the meeting and then we'll go have lunch and I believe I promised my beautiful fiancé a ring." He took my hand to his lips kissed it.

"Edward I don't need a ring, I've already said yes. You don't have to buy me anything expensive. I don't like to wear rings and stuff." I voiced my disdain for expensive jewelry.

Edward didn't say anything and suddenly pulled over into the nearest emergency lay-by.

"Isabella, why is it hard for you to understand that we'll do everything the right way." Edward's tone was harsh and I flinched. "I saw that you were reluctant when Rose invited me to your brother's house. I thought you were okay with this now and why won't you want to wear my ring?"

"I m sorry Edward, I thought that Rose was having a private dinner and I'd planned on inviting Emmett to my house later to meet you. And I'd love to wear your ring." I was trying my level best not to cry. "You can pick me at 11; we'll go get a ring. Okay?" I moved over and kissed him on the cheek and he visibly relaxed.

"Okay." He smiled and started the car again and we got back on the road.

"Thank you love. I can't wait to slip my ring on your finger where it'll stay for the rest of our lives." His words sent a shiver down my spine and I prayed he didn't feel me flinch.

We made it to the courthouse on time and I was getting off when Edward's hand shot out and blocked me. "Aren't you forgetting something love?" He raised his brows.

I looked to see if I had my cell and bag then looked at Edward questioningly.

He leaned over and brushed my hair from my forehead. "Still don't remember?" he whispered near my lips.

A bulb went on in my brain and I gave him a peck on the lip and opened the door, but his hand was still blocking me.

"I m not your cousin Bella, kiss me again and do it properly this time." His tone was scolding.

I swallowed and kissed him and opened my mouth to him this time. He put his hand in my hair and slid his tongue in my mouth and kissed me passionately.

I was getting out of breathe when he broke the kiss. "Now that's how you kiss your fiancé." He said breathlessly. "Good bye love, I'll see you soon."

I got out with what ever little shred of dignity I had left and walked up the staircase to the courthouse.

I went into the restroom to compose myself. I could not understand what was wrong with Edward, this morning he seemed so playful and at ease. His mood swings were giving me whiplash.

But then I thought about the two instances he had lost his temper. Both times I refused to act like a genuine fiancé, first by refusing the ring and second when I just pecked him. A real fiancé would want a ring and kiss him with all her fervor. I decided to play my part better if I didn't want to see his wrath again. God knows what he might do next.

I still had a few moments before I get to meet my client so I called Felix to ask him about the files. Felix told me he'll meet me outside the court's door with the files.

Mr. Molina was already in the room when I walked in. "Good Morning Mr. Molina, I m your lawyer Isabella swan." I shook his hand. "You have decided to plead not guilty on charge of manslaughter. do you understand it?"

"Yes, I was only defending myself when that guy was robbing my store and the gun went off in my nervousness because he kept on waving his gun in my face." Mr. Molina looked very broken.

"Alright, let's hope the judge hears your story, I'll be right back with your files." I walked out the room and bumped into someone.

"I m sorry I didn't see you there." I looked up to see my latest klutz victim and was shocked to see a pair of familiar piercing blue eyes and muddy blond hair in front of me. _James?????_

"Aren't you going to say hi to an old friend Bells?" he flashed his teeth and I wanted to break them all. "I thought you were in Connecticut."

"I thought you were in hell." I sneered at him. _Touché!_

"Hell was full so I came back." James chuckled. "Seriously tell me what are you doing in New York?"

"I m a lawyer, and I have a client to go back to so if you could please excuse me." I tried to be as civil as possible.

"Wait, are you representing Molina?" he questioned me in surprise.

"Yes, how do you know him?"

"Well, Ms. Swan meet detective James McCarty. I m here for Molina's case as well. That scumbag who got shot was a member of the gang I m investigating." James showed me his badge.

"Wow I m surprised you did so well for yourself." I smiled at him.

"Thank you. You too, you big shot lawyer." James smiled back and then got serious "Bella, about that night 6 years ago, I just want you to see it from my point of view once, I was drunk and…."

"It's been 6 years and amazingly enough, I don't give a shit" I cut him off. "And for the record I did try seeing your point of view but I couldn't get my head that far up my ass"

I stalked away from him. _Why do I always attract fucktards? _

I found Felix and we went to the room and briefed Mr. Molina.

The arraignment went as planned and James was there in the front row. He kept looking at me and I ignored him. After the court was adjourned, I went outside and saw Edward leaning against a pillar.

He was wearing black slacks and a blue button down shirt with top 3 buttons open and looked like a tribute to a forgotten pagan God. I was walking towards him when James called my name.

"Bella wait up" James came towards me. I stopped and turned. "Can I talk to you for just one minute Bells?"

I suddenly felt a presence behind me. "Hi love, how was court?" Edward sounded tense as his arm snaked around my waist. I shuddered remembering the last time Edward saw another guy touching me.

"Edward this is James, we went to high school together." I left out the 'we dated for a month' part. "James this is my fiancé Edward Masen." I thought if I introduced him as my fiancé he'll relax a bit. They both shook hands.

Edward kissed me on the cheek and I saw him smiling his crooked smile. James face turned into an emotionless mask.

"Congratulations Bella, so when are you getting married?" James looked like somebody had punched him in the gut. Well serves him well after what he did to me.

"Next month." I chirped. "It was nice seeing you James. We have to go." I said pulling Edward with me.

"Bye Bella, it was nice seeing you as well." Then James walked away.

Edward and I walked to his car and got in and he started to drive. We went to an Italian restaurant. The food was good and we had an easy conversation. I noticed that Edward was still happy with me declaring him my fiancé to another man.

After lunch we drove to Tiffany's and began looking for my ring. I settled on a simple solitaire diamond ring and Edward got down on his knee and slid it on my ring finger.

"I can't wait till the day you're mine forever." He said reverently and I kissed him.

"Edward, can I please wear this ring in a chain until I tell my friends about the engagement." I asked him.

"It's okay love, let's get a chain for it. But remember your promise Bella, you'll tell them soon right?"

"Offcourse Edward, just give me a little time." I got on my tip toes and kissed him. Edward got me a chain and after putting in the ring, he put it on my neck.

After tiffany's we drove to a store to get some wine for Emmett's house. Edward was in a very cheerful mood. I on the other hand was dreading about how would Emmett react to Edward.

Edward must have sensed my tension coz he started to rub my neck. "What's going on in your head now?" he asked me.

"I was just thinking about how's Emmett going to react to you. Edward you have to promise me that no matter what he says you'll keep your cool. My brother has never approved of any guy that wants to date me. My zero love life is a proof to it." I said pleadingly.

"Bella please relax, I m sure Emmett would just love me." Edward smiled slyly like he was in on a private joke that I was unaware of.

I gave him directions to Emmett's place and we got there just in time.

After pulling over Edward came round and opened my door offering me his hand. I quickly got up on my toes and kissed him properly so his happy mood would last longer.

We got the wine and walked to the condo's door and rang the bell.

"Hi Bella, hello Edward." Rose greeted us wearing a 'kiss the chef' apron and took the wine bottle ushering us inside.

"Is that belly-jelly?" my brother's voice boomed from the lounge.

I took Edward's hand and walked towards the lounge.

"Hey brother bear. I want you to meet my boyfri…"

I was cut off by Emmett who was now giving a one-arm hug to Edward. _What's with my family hugging Edward?_

"Hi Edward, this is a pleasant surprise." Emmett said. "Like wise Emmett." Edward retuned his hug.

"Wait do you know each other." I asked confused. Emmett looked at me.

"Bella, I was having a bit of financial crisis and Edward here invested in my business and now owns half my shares. So technically he's my new business partner." Emmett came and put his arm on my shoulder. "How do you know him?"

"He's my boyfriend." My voice sounded like it came from a grave but everybody was too happy to notice.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of laughs and conversation over Rose's lasagna. Edward was very entertaining and Emmett loved him. I only participated when someone asked me a question. I was feeling exhausted by feeling trapped by Edward and his hold on me was getting tighter by the minute.

After dinner we said goodbyes to everyone and Edward and I got out of the house. Alice came out with us. "Wait Bella, I have a surprise for you" Alice ran to her car and brought a travel bag and gave it to Edward.

"Edward asked me to pick some clothes for you for tomorrow. Have fun you two!" Alice gave me a kiss and ran back into the house.

"Let's go home love." Edward whispered near my ear and pulled me to his car and opened the door for me. He put my bag in the back seat and started the car.

"You've been awfully quiet this evening." Edward said to me.

"Yeah, I m a bit tired from work." I replied.

"It will be okay after you get some sleep." Edward cupped my cheek with his hand and I sighed.

After we got 'home', Edward carried my bag to his bedroom holding my hand.

"Get changed for bed, I'll be right back." Edward kissed me on the cheek and left.

I opened the bag and found my tooth brush and toiletries. I took them and my pajamas and went to bathroom to get ready for bed.

I came out from the bathroom and Edward was still not there. I climbed into the covers on the bed. Edward came after some time and got in the bed only in his boxers and held me in his arms.

"Bella, are you okay love." He ran his nose on my neck.

"Yes I m okay, I m happy that you helped my brother in his time of need and won him over." I squeaked fighting my tears that were threatening to come out.

"It's all for you darling, I'll also win over your parents. Then we'll have our happily ever after." He reached over and turned off the light switch and the darkness engulfed me. I realized it right then....that I'll never be able to outrun him.

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**Please read and review. I worked hard on this chapter.**

**MissGuidedAngel : I would also love to see caveward again, maybe in next chapter when jakey boy comes in picture :)**

**shamonti : point noted....no EPOV soon.**

**MyCrazyTwistedMind : Quil is really dead...like dead, dead....**

**shira01 : I did some research on the net, no age limit came up...even if there's one...let's assume just for the story that there's no age limit. I'll post you the link in pm.**

**Thanks everyone, I feel humbled by your reviews....please send more...and i'll update soon.**


	7. Shower and Espionage

**************Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Okay people here's the new chap, I tried to write a steamy scene for the first time, I hope I did alright. People with faint heart, Please skip the shower scene.**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"Bella, are you okay love?" Edward asked as he ran his nose along my neck.

"Yes I m okay, I m happy that you helped my brother in his time of need and won him over." I squeaked fighting my tears that were threatening to come out.

"It's all for you darling, I'll also win over your parents. Then we'll have our happily ever after." He reached over and turned off the light switch and the darkness engulfed me. I realized it right then....that I'll never be able to outrun him.

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**Chapter 7**

It was dark and cold air was clawing on my skin. I looked around and saw nothing but tall trees void of leaves and life. My body was limp on the ground and I was covered in cuts and bruises but I knew that I can't stop to rest. I had to keep on running. His footsteps were getting closer. I got up using the last ounce of strength and stumbled forward. I fell on my knees again and started to crawl. My palms were scraped and blood was trickling out of gashes on my elbows. "Bella!!!" He was getting closer. "You know it's getting pretty pathetic to see you try to escape me." He laughed darkly. "As if you can outrun me." I felt him behind me and he grabbed my wrist and jerked me around, making me face him. "As if you could fight me off." Then he started to drag me back by my hair. "You'll never leave me Bella!! You're mine." He growled and I saw his bloodshot eyes and let out a blood curdling scream….

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Fuck!!" I gasped as I woke up in cold sweat from one of the worst nightmares. My heart was pounding so hard, I was afraid it'd break a rib or two.

I looked around to see that I was alone in the bed. It was 6 am so I got up and went into bathroom for my Shower.

After shedding my clothes I adjusted the water temperature and stepped under the shower. I took my shampoo and lathered my hair. I could smell my favorite freesias now…Aah…Bless Alice for packing my favorite shampoo. I let the lukewarm water stream over my head, rinsing out the lather. Grabbing a washcloth I worked shower gel over my body.

Suddenly I felt two strong arms slide around me from behind.

"Jesus!" I yelped and Edward chuckled near my ear.

"Sorry for startling you love but I couldn't resist the idea of showering with you." He kissed my neck and his breath tickled me to my very core.

"I…. I have to get ready for work." I squeaked as I felt his erection poking me in the back.

"Don't worry, I'll be quick" He chuckled and bit my ear lobe and palmed my breasts.

I tensed up a bit and he sensed it. "I'll only make you feel good baby, we're not having sex. Just relax." He whispered huskily and bit on my shoulder.

"Uh-ah" I moaned.

He turned me around pushing me against the cool tiled wall and curved his hand behind the nape of my neck. His other hand started to travel down towards my core. Before I could protest his lips crashed onto mine fiercely as his fingers slid over my folds. He slipped one finger into me and began moving it. Seconds later he added another finger and started to slowly pump his fingers in and out. His ministrations were getting too much to bear for me and my groans and moans became louder. He let go of my lips and started sucking at the pulse point on my neck and then kissed my ring which hung between my breasts. My breathing was getting shallow and rapid and I put my hands around him and started scratching his back with my nails. He pulled my hand from his back and placed it on his now hard and throbbing erection and stroked it with my hand. "Please Bella, I need you." His voice was husky with lust and I gazed up at his emerald green eyes, which were now dark with desire. I tightened my grip on him and started to stroke him harder making him moan in pleasure. He continued to work his fingers firmly on my core and I bucked my hip into his hand to get more friction. He complied by pumping harder and faster and I picked up my pace on his length as well. "Bella, I m going to…unh…come with me love…" Edward groaned. He pinched my bundle of nerves and I screamed as my orgasm took over me. Edward came seconds later with a guttural moan screaming my name.

My knees gave out and I almost collapsed but Edward held me up by his arm around my waist. He adjusted the showerhead so we were under the water stream. He took a washcloth and cleaned himself first then washed my body with soft strokes.

After making sure we were clean, Edward pulled two towels off the rack and wrapped one around his waist and started to pat my body dry with another. "I'll go downstairs and start breakfast. Come down after you've changed darling." He wrapped a towel around me and kissed me and left for downstairs. My knees were still wobbly as I dragged myself to the bedroom; apparently earth shattering orgasms were not good for my mobility.

After changing into a black suit and blue blouse that Alice packed for me, I went to the mirror to do my hair and makeup. As I finished, I gave myself an overall look and noticed a bruise where Edward had sucked on my neck. The fact that he had marked me did not bother me as much as it should have. I adjusted my collar to hide it. My ring necklace was peeking out through my collar. I pulled out the ring and held it towards the light; the diamond reflected all the colors of rainbow. My heart fluttered a little as I thought of how this ring binds me to Edward. _Snap out of it Bella!! He's the bad guy; don't let his talented fingers change your mind!!_

I sighed tucking my ring back inside my collar.

I went downstairs looking for Edward. Delicious aroma of coffee and breakfast hit my nose and I walked towards the kitchen.

"Good morning love." Edward said grinning ear to ear while cooking eggs and sausages on the stove. He was wearing a green t shirt and khakis. He motioned his hand for me to get closer. I went to him and he embraced me kissing me on the forehead.

"Did u enjoy the shower sweetheart?" He smirked. I blushed profusely as he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. I couldn't speak so I nodded. "Go sit on the stool by the counter, I'll get your breakfast."

I took my seat as he filled a plate with eggs and sausages and set it in front of me and poured me a cup of coffee.

"Come on, eat your breakfast." He came and stood behind me and placed his hands on my hips.

I began eating but his hands were distracting me. "Aren't you going to eat something?" I turned towards him.

"No, I've been awake for a while now and already had my breakfast." He looked like he was deep in thoughts.

I nodded and got back to my food. His hands moved and encircled my waist and he rested his chin on my shoulder. I finished eating and started to sip my coffee.

"How long did you go out with James?" His voice was calm and I suddenly froze and almost dropped my cup. "Bella, I told you that I did a background check on you and I knew about James, I just don't understand why you would lie to me about something like that."

I began shivering with panic. "I… I remembered Quil and I just couldn't think. I m sorry." Tears were pooling in my eyes and I had no idea what Edward would do now.

"Shhh….it's okay darling. I m sorry I scared you, hush now…don't cry love" Edward turned me and hugged me cradling my head to his chest. "Bella, please understand that I m not a sadistic bastard. Quil had a history of violating women and I knew that he'd find a way to hurt you and it blinded me in fury and I m not sorry for what I did."

"Bella, I feel very protective of you." Edward started to rub my back and my sobs started to die down. "You're a beautiful woman and guys are going to approach you all the time, but I trust you completely. I m not some maniac murderer that will hunt down every guy who talks to you."

"I m sorry Edward, I'll not lie to you in future." I still couldn't look at him.

"I know that you went out with him but I don't know what really happened. Were you close to him? Did you two sleep together?" He whispered the last part as his hands continued rubbing my back.

I wiped my tears, swallowed and snuggled into his chest.

"I was very shy in high school and did not go out much. Everybody knew that my father was the Chief of police and to complicate things more Emmett was the bully of our school, so not a lot of guys asked me out. When Emmett left for college, I was in my senior year. James was a good friend to me and when he asked me out, I said yes. We went out for a month and I began to like him and trust him. He kept on pressuring me for sex but I kept refusing as I wanted it to be special, I wanted to be in love before I could completely give myself over to anyone." I relaxed further into Edward's warm embrace. "On James's 18th birthday I thought I'd surprise him so I snuck into his house after midnight only to find him in bed with one of my classmates." I grimaced and Edward tightened his hold around me.

"That's not the worst part, he should have stopped and apologized but he continued to move over her and told me to stay and observe so I could learn something." I shuddered from the memory of that fucked up night. "I ran out of his house and called Alice and Rose. They picked me up and took me home that night. The rest of the year was hell for me. I was convinced that guys would only want me for one thing and if I didn't give it, they'd dump me just like James. After high school, I went to college but I never dated."

I looked up into Edward's green eyes. "I've never slept with James or with anyone else." I don't know why but I felt this intense need to let Edward know that I'd never let anyone touch me like he had touched me.

"I m glad that you saved yourself for me love." Edward pulled my face up by my chin and gazed into my eyes. "If you want, I could make him suffer for that stunt he pulled on you." _Oh God, damage control Bella!_

"No, please don't do anything, I've forgiven him and moved on. It was 6 years ago, we were kids back then. Teenagers do juvenile and impulsive things all the time. I want you to know that it meant nothing to me." I assured him.

He seemed convinced and relaxed his arms around me. "I m sorry, your coffee has gotten cold, let me get you another cup." He took my cup and poured me another cup of coffee.

After I finished my coffee we got up to leave. I went upstairs to get my bag and cell phone. I came downstairs and saw Edward standing near the couch in same spot where he had shot Quil.

I stilled on the last step. Edward looked at me questioningly. I shook my head attempting to purge my memory of images of Quil's bloody body.

"Bella are you okay? You look pale." Edward quickly walked over and put his hands on my shoulder.

"Edward, whenever I look over there, I see Quil's body." I whispered. "I try to forget about it but seeing that spot in the living room, reminds me of the horror that took place there."

Edward contemplated for a few minutes and sighed. "I m sorry for putting you through that. We will not live in this house anymore. I have a brown stone in the city, we'll move there until I find us another house." He moved closer till his forehead was touching mine. "I'll do everything in my power to make you happy love." He brushed his lips with mine and kissed me chastely.

We left for my office afterwards. I had a long day in front of me. I had to prepare our new client for an upcoming deposition.

Edward pulled over in front of my office and turned towards me. "Do you want to go somewhere for lunch?" He cupped my cheek.

"No, I'll be super busy, I have a deposition in a week." I remembered that I had to give him a proper good bye kiss now. "Edward I'll drive home myself today, I'll call you when I get home." I leaned in kissed him. He opened his mouth sliding his tongue into mine and knotted his hand in my hair pulling me closer.

He ran his other hand across my collarbone till he came across my ring chained around my neck. He held the ring and moaned into my mouth.

His moan set me into frenzy but we had to break the kiss to get some air into our lungs.

We were both flushed and panting. There were a few minutes of silence as we both composed ourselves.

"Bella, I can't sleep without you, so I'll come over to your house tonight to spend the night. We also have to make plans to meet your parents on the weekend, I'll call you for it" He said while smoothing my collar. "Is it okay with you love?"

"Edward my parents are in Washington, and we can't get a flight that'll bring us back on Sunday night for work the next day." I smoothed down my hair.

"Bella Monday is Labor day." _Oh crap I forgot!_ "And you don't have to worry about our flight arrangements, we'll take my jet."

That little conniving piece of shit had thought of everything. "Okay, how about we make plans once I get home? I'll wait for you." With that I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips and got off the car to start my day.

I walked into my office building and didn't find Jacob in the lobby so I went straight to the elevator.

I saw Felix as I stepped out of the elevator. I mumbled a quick hello and went into my office. After taking a note of my agenda, I started to go through the files of our latest client.

I heard a tap on my door and looked up.

"Good morning Bella, Carlisle has asked for you and your new paralegal is waiting. Should I send her in?" Felix stood at my office door. I had totally forgotten that we were to be assigned paralegals today.

"I'll see Carlisle in a while and send the new Paralegal in please." I hunched back over the files.

"May I come in please." I looked up to see a short brown eyed brunette with librarian glasses and a kind face.

"Yes please do, I m Isabella Swan." I raised my hand to shake hers.

"I m Angela Weber, it's nice to meet you Miss Swan." She had a nice smile.

"Call me Bella, we'll be working together and I don't like formalities." I gestured to her to take a seat. "So, Miss Weber, we have an upcoming deposition and we need to prep our client, for the Spanish inquisition that the opposing counsel will drag her through."

"Please call me Angela, and I m more than ready to begin." She nodded enthusiastically.

We spent a few minutes skimming through the case then I got up to go see Carlisle. "Angela just go through these files and we'll discuss the cases in length when I get back."

"Good Morning Carlisle, you wanted to see me?" I knocked on his already opened door.

"Hi Bella, yes please come in." Carlisle smiled and waved at me to take a seat.

"Our new client Ms. Vanessa Wolfe will be here at 4." He picked up a file and studied it. "She's a young widow and is being sued by her late husband's brother over property in the city." He picked up a cup.

Carlisle sipped his coffee and continued. "And a detective who escorted Mr. Molina would come to your office to get some information about the case."

I groaned internally. I knew who this 'detective' was. I decided that I'd kick James in the nuts if he tried to be a smart ass.

"Okay, I'll be prepared for both." I said as I stood up to leave.

"And Bella how's the new paralegal?" Carlisle asked.

"She looks promising. I'll keep you posted on her progress."

On my way to my room I passed Jake's office. He was busy on the phone and waved so I went back to my office. Angela had her head buried in the files and was making side notes.

My cell started to ring and the Id showed it was Emmett. I got up and went to the corner to take his call.

"Hi belly, how're you, I m sorry we didn't get a chance to talk much last night." Emmett said apologetically.

"It's okay Emmett, I m not mad at you. Cheer up… I just can't believe that you kept something big like that from me." I was still a bit upset with him. "And how on earth did the situation get so out of hand that you had to sell half of your shares?"

Emmett was quiet for a second. "Bella, I had no idea how it happened." I heard some papers shuffling in the background. "I mean I saw the signs. There was a company which kept luring our smaller clients to them but I didn't pay much attention until major clients also started to drop us."

"Which company?" I asked.

"Some European based company, they have one office here. Tony Enterprises." Emmett replied and I made a mental note to check out this company's back ground.

"It will be okay Em, Rose told me that you're getting back on track." I tried to alleviate some of his tension.

"Yeah I m getting there, thanks to Edward. I tell you bells, he's a nice guy. Nobody invests into a drowning company like mine but he did. Definitely a keeper!" I couldn't help my eye roll. _If only you knew brother dear how much of a nice guy he's been, harassing and threatening your baby sister into submission. _

"Thanks Emmett, that means a lot that you are happy for me. Okay bro, I've gotta go, have tons of work today."

After Emmett's call, I went back to my desk and started searching the Database for Tony Enterprises. Nothing major turned up except some pictures from ground breaking ceremonies on various projects. There was absolutely no information about the owners of the company, only some shareholder's names were mentioned. I checked the tax records and hit a brick wall, the company's ownership details were classified on all the records. It struck as strange to me and I huffed in annoyance.

"Is everything Okay Bella?" Angela had sensed my frustration and asked politely.

"Yes, it's just I wanted information on a company but the owner's name is confidential, it's like a ghost owns the company." I frowned.

Angela looked around like she was checking if we were alone.

"Bella, you know, I like you and I'll do you a favor if you promise to keep it a secret." Angela whispered cryptically.

"Okay." I nodded for her to continue.

"I can get you the company's information if it's really important to you." Angela whispered.

"Isn't it illegal?" I was surprised that Angela would offer me something like this.

"Well, we'll just get the owner's name. I mean we don't want financial or legal records. And as long as we keep it to ourselves it won't be illegal." Angela assured me.

Apparently my new paralegal was borderline insane. There were privacy laws in place which would be broken if I went through with this but I really wanted to know the person's name who nearly destroyed my brother's company.

"Okay, but I just want the name Angela, and this never leaves this room." I said reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll get you the information by tonight. Now I'll take these files to my desk." Angela got up and saluted me like she was a Russian spy and I had just handed her a life altering mission.

After Angela left to carry out our first espionage, I dived back into my work.

It was almost noon and I ordered a sandwich from the deli downstairs. The sandwich was delivered to my office after 15 min and I ate lunch in silence all the while studying the upcoming cases. I was so lost in the files that I didn't hear the constant knocking on my door until the person walked in cleared their throat.

I almost jumped from my seat and dropped the file on floor. I looked up and saw James chuckling by my door.

"Wow, you're still the same Bella, I m sorry to scare you but I knocked like 45 times but you were so immersed in your work that you didn't even move." He was still grinning. _Asswipe!_

"To what do I owe the displeasure of your cursed company?" I asked politely. James just walked in and slumped in the chair in front of my desk.

"Bella would you believe me if I told you that I still care about you as a friend and I have to tell you something that you might find hard to digest." James said seriously lowering his voice as he spoke.

"James, I have a job to do and I don't have time for your twisted mind games. Whatever you want to say, just say it and leave." I responded with slight irritation.

Instead of saying something James took out his wallet from his pocket and pulled out a picture and offered it to me. I took it and saw a little girl, around 3-4years old with blond hair pigtails and blue eyes. She had a heart warming smile.

"This is my daughter Haley, she's four." James smiled proudly. "I've been happily married for 3 years now."

"She's beautiful and she has your eyes." I sighed. "Why are you here James?"

"Bella, it's about your fiancé." James took a deep breath and continued. "You have to promise me that you'll hear me out before you say anything. I showed you my daughter's picture because I want you to know that I m a family man now and I'll not say anything that's even remotely damaging to your relationship just for the fun of it."

What the fuck is he rambling on about? _Oh My God! He knows about Edward!_

"Bella, Edward's not the man you think he is." James's jaws tensed a bit and he continued. "After attending Harvard business school Edward joined his family business 2 years back. The Pharmaceutical industry is one of many companies they own to mask their real business."

James shifted in his seat. "Bella there is no easy way to say it, so I'll just come out with it. Edward's father is a Mafia Boss and Edward is next in line to take his place."

After he said that, he looked at me apprehensively to gauge my reaction. It was getting comical now, his face seemed like he was telling a 9 year old that Santa doesn't exist.

He stayed quiet and I took it as my cue to speak. "Mafia? As in drugs and stuff?" I was actually curious because after my talk with Felix and the Quil incident, I came to realize that I didn't know what exactly the Masens were involved with.

"Oh no, although I wish they were into drugs, it would've been easier to get solid evidence against them." He huffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "They make money through control of public and private contracts by threatening or bribing contract owners and they are also involved in money laundering, extortion of large sums of money in the name of protection racket or through blackmailing and kidnapping. They also have highly trained assasins that silence anyone who stands up against them."

"If what you're saying is true, then why haven't you arrested any of them?" I scoffed.

"Bella, I've been on the Masens case for past 3 years, but never got solid evidence I could pin on them. We're sure that they have some of our men on their payroll and internal affairs is trying to sniff those rats out." James voice was getting strained now and I was having the hardest time trying to keep my face void of emotions.

"Edward's mother has diplomatic status in our country and that further complicates our investigative techniques." James got up and started to pace. "Bella, please listen to me. You should get away from him. He's not good for you, he's a criminal. I m sure he's very well aware of his father's illegal activities."

We continued in silence for a few minutes. "I don't believe you. Do you have any proof to back up all of this non sense?"

"Bella, weren't you paying attention? I told you we don't have any evidence, yet. But it's not a mystery that how all the major Vaccines and Medicine contracts go to Masens every year and they also get contracts for all their partner industries. IRS never found any money trails but then again, it's not hard for them to keep their black money in offshore accounts." My eyes were focused on a spot on the wall and James's desperation was getting more visible by the minute.

"There was a witness that came forward to testify last year, but he vanished from the face of the earth." James put his hands palms down on the edge of my desk and his posture tensed up. "One of our guys went undercover to work for the Masens. He gave up just 5 days into the assignment and requested for a transfer saying that he could not handle it, later on he confided in me that they had kidnapped his family and threatened to kill them so he would never go against the Masens. When I asked him if he'll press charges and say this in a court, he vehemently refused saying that he valued his family's safety above everything" _No surprise there…._

James's concern for me sounded genuine and a part of me was just dying to let somebody know about my situation.

"I know this is a lot to take in." He straightened up and took out a card from his jacket. "I'll leave my card for you. Call me if you need to talk or anything else." James put the card on my desk and walked to the door.

He halted at the doorframe and turned to me. "Bella, I m sorry for hurting you in the past, I was young and stupid back then. But you can trust me now, I m not that guy anymore. Good Bye."

After James left, I was alone again to wallow in my misery. Maybe this was a sign; maybe James could help me get away from Edward. But can I trust him?

I fisted my hands in desperation and felt something crumpling in my hand. I brought my hand up and saw that it was Haley's picture. James's daughter had his goofy grin. I smiled and then I realized that James had a family, a beautiful baby girl. I could not drag him into this mess of mine. If I involved him, his family would be in danger and I couldn't even bring myself to think about what might happen if Edward found out that James was onto him.

My ringing phone brought me out of my stupor.

"Hello" I saw it was Alice on the ID and picked up.

"Hi ballerina, what time do you get off today?" Alice was her usual cheerful self.

"I m not sure, I m swamped but I think I can make it out at 5 after meeting a client." I put Haley's picture and James card in my bag.

"Bella, I've made reservations for us at 'Visage' for facials. You should go straight to the Spa. Rose and I will meet you there" Alice always made appointments for our facials, it had slipped my mind.

"Ally, do I really have to?" I whined.

"There's no freakin way you're getting out of this one. This will be your first weekend with that hunk of a man and I'll be damned if I let you ruin it with un-scrubbed and non-cleansed greasy and hairy skin. So get your ass to Visage by 5:30 or there'll be dire consequences." Alice hung after threatening me and I groaned loudly.

After my meeting with Ms. Wolfe I got up and gathered my stuff to leave. I went into the elevator.

"Hold it!" Jake yelled and ran into the elevator.

"Hi Jake, didn't see you around. How've you been?" I nudged his shoulder.

"Don't ask Bells. Aro has buried me into piles of shitty cases. I m considering a change of professions now. Maybe I should open a Burger joint. Less chance of having a mental breakdown if your only job is to flip shit over." Jake said and I started to laugh.

I missed hanging out with Jake. It was so easy being with him. He always made me feel relaxed.

"So what are you guys up to this weekend? And remember, we have to celebrate you getting that Masen's Account" Jake ruffled my hair.

"I might go see mom and Dad this weekend and I have refused to take that account."

"What? Why would you do such a thing Bells? It's a major account and will do well for your career." Jake raised his brows.

"Um, I can't. I m dating Edward and it will be considered a conflict of interest if I take his family's account." I said in a small voice.

"Really? You're going with Don Corleone junior?" Jake chuckled.

"What's so funny?" I scoffed.

"I thought you'd stay away from him after Felix's crazy rants but I remember when you were asking about him. You tried to act all non-chalant but I saw right through you, you were lusting after Masen. Go on admit it!" Jake elbowed me and continued laughing.

"Oh shut up. I thought you'd ask me to stay away from him after hearing what Felix said." I frowned and punched his arm.

"Ow!! No hitting the guns woman! And you know better than to believe those rumors. Rich people always have a ton of negative publicity. Ignore Felix and do whatever your heart tells you. If you like Edward, go for it girl!"

"Thanks Jackass." I mumbled and got off the elevator waving him goodbye.

My car stood in the same place I had parked it 2 days ago. I got in and started the car and began the drive to Visage.

Once I got to the spa I saw Alice and Rose's cars parked in the lot. I went inside and asked the receptionist for my appointment.

"Oh yes, Miss Swan…I have your name for a facial, 30 min body massage, full body wax and Brazilian bikini wax." The receptionist informed me.

"I think you have it wrong, I didn't request for Brazilian wax." There was no way I could put myself through such a torture.

"There's no mix up with the appointment. Just Show miss Swan to the facial area first." Ugh, pixie was behind me and was in her full military mode.

"Alice I m not getting waxed down there, what if they break my lady parts." I scoffed in mock horror.

"Bella, you'll thank me later when you're having smooth and silky sex. Now go, so we can get you dolled up for McYummy." Alice turned me around and slapped me on the ass.

"McYummy? Seriously Ally? Where's the novelty?" I entered the facial room and Saw Rose on a bed getting her facial. "Hi Rose, were you in on Alice's plans of potentially harming my area 51 and then pimping me out tonight?"

"Neah, that sneaky midget set all the appointments herself. I m glad though, Emmett is going to love when his tongue slides…" My high pitch shriek cut off Rose mid sentence.

"Ew Rose, it's my brother you're talking about. And no amount of therapy will help me get over the images you were about to spill." Rose and Alice were laughing like nut jobs and I laid down for my facial.

After 2 hours of intense torture that'd put even Chinese torture techniques to shame, I was in the shower area washing the residues off my body. Alice and Rose were in the adjoining stalls.

"God Bella you were screaming like a banshee, I was sure that the waxer was going to stab you with her flat spatula." As usual my best friends were having a good laugh at my expense.

"Shut it Alice!! I m red like a tomato down there and at one point it felt like she broke something. If you ever put me through this again, so help me God, I'll smother you in your sleep." I yelled and closed the water reaching out for rob hung on the wall.

"So, what are you guys planning for the long weekend?" Rose asked once we were all in the locker area getting our clothes.

"I don't know, Edward is coming over tonight and then we'll make plans."

We all walked out to our cars and got in.

Once we were on the road, My Escalade stayed between Alice's Porsche and Rose's BMW.

My cell started to ring and I looked for the hands free option. After unsuccessfully trying for a few moments I just picked up.

"Hello, Bella. It's Angela." I was driving with one hand, I slowed down as I could see an intersection approaching.

"Hi Angela, I m driving, can you call me back?" I asked her.

"Oh, Alright. I just found that company owner's name, I'll call you back." Angela replied.

"Okay, I m listening just tell me quickly, I can't wait till I get home." This was it, I was about to find out who had sabotaged Emmett's company.

"Well, it's actually two guys from a country in eastern Europe. One guy is Marcus Gabrielle and the guy who actually founded the company is Edward Anthony Masen." I couldn't hear another word Angela was saying and dropped the phone.

I went into shock as I realized that it was Edward all along who had played my brother into his trap, to strengthen his chokehold on me.

My trance broke as I heard tires screeching and suddenly my ears were filled by ominous sound of twisting metal and I felt my body jostle as something hit my door. The air bag blasted open releasing a cloud of powder and everything got quieter.

I felt a warm trickle down my temple and I started to slide into a dark place.

"Someone call 911!!" I recognized Alice's voice as she shrieked loudly.

That was the last thing I heard and then I blacked out.

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**Thanks everyone, I feel humbled by your reviews....please send more...and i'll update soon.**


	8. ECG and Punishment

**************Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Okay people here's the new chap, I m sorry on going on vacation unannounced. I m back and i'll update regularly now. Thank you for continuing to read my rants. I wrote this chapter in my post vacation haze and it might not live upto your expectations but i assure you i'll work harder on next chap.... I don't have a beta....so forgive me for any mistakes....Thanx A lot.... and pleease leave me a review.**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

I went into shock as I realized that it was Edward all along who had played my brother into his trap, to strengthen his chokehold on me.

My trance broke as I heard tires screeching and suddenly my ears were filled by ominous sound of twisting metal and I felt my body jostle as something hit my door. The air bag blasted open releasing a cloud of powder and everything got quieter.

I felt a warm trickle down my temple and I started to slide into a dark place.

"Someone call 911!!" I recognized Alice's voice as she shrieked loudly.

That was the last thing I heard and then I blacked out.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

My head was pounding and despite the Herculean effort I put in trying to open my eyes, they remained shut. I could hear soft murmurs around me but I wasn't able to make out a single word. After a few moments, I forced my eyes open and saw a flash of light that looked like an oncoming train in a dark tunnel.

I blinked and tried to focus on the scene in front of me. The strange fog on my brain had lifted up a bit and my vision got a lot less blurry now.

"She's waking up." I heard a voice and turned to it.

I could tell now that I was lying on a bed in a hospital and I could see Alice standing next to me in tears with a woman in white coat behind her. The room was filled with a low beeping sound coming from a machine that looked like heart monitor.

"What happened? Where m I?" My throat was dry and it felt like a cactus was shoved down my throat.

"Bella sweetie, your car was in an accident" Alice bent and held my hand. "We're in a hospital right now, the doctor said that you only got a minor concussion and you'll be completely fine."

"I - I don't remember anything about the accident" I choked out still confused about how I ended up here.

The woman in white coat neared my bed holding what seemed to be my chart. "Welcome back Miss Swan. I m Dr. Heather. You've sustained a minor cut over your left temple; your X-Ray reports are clear. It's completely normal to feel confusion after a head injury. You will be able to recall everything in half an hour. Your CT scan turned up clear and you'll be free to go after an hour although I do recommend that you stay overnight for observation." She put a stethoscope on my chest. "Take deep breaths please." She continued my check up for several minutes. "Okay, you seem fine now. Do you have any questions?"

Before I could say anything Alice spoke up. "Does she have amnesia?" Dr. Heather smiled at her. "No, usually patients with concussions are disoriented for 30 minutes or so, she'll be her normal self in next 30 minutes. Any questions Miss Swan?" She looked at me.

I shook my head. "Very well, if you do, you can have me paged through any of the nurses. Good night." The doctor walked out leaving me and Alice in the room.

"Thank God Bella you're okay, you scared the life out of me." Alice let out a breath of relief then sat on edge of the bed by my feet.

"What exactly happened? Everything is still a bit hazy to me." I asked her. My senses were getting restored to their normal state slowly but the accident part was still lost to me.

"You were driving through an intersection and a drunken idiot hit your car from the left causing your car to swivel and that's how you hit your head on the window." Alice's eyes were still watery and she was playing with the hem of the blanket that was covering me. "My car was right behind you. I was the first one to reach you. You were bleeding a lot from your head wound but the EMT assured me that even superficial cuts on the head bleed too much. The guy who hit you, bolted from the scene on foot. I hope the police find that guy soon and kick his ass." She scrunched her brows.

"Where's Rose? I think she was right behind me." I remembered leaving the spa with both Alice and Rose.

"Rose is fine. She was ahead of you. She's outside calling Emmett. I've already called Edward." Alice was soon interrupted as Edward came in bursting through the door; he looked like somebody had punched him in the chest. His hair was as usual disheveled and his heavenly green eyes locked with mine. I didn't know if I wanted to knee him in the groin or kiss him senseless. My heart rate picked up and embarrassingly both Edward and Alice could hear this shift.

"What happened?" He looked at Alice then sat on the bed beside me. He then hunched over me and started to smooth down my hair. I looked at him and suddenly felt that my gaze could not leave his green orbs luring me to their depths.

"A drunken driver hit her car when she was crossing an intersection. She just got a minor concussion and will be fine." Alice informed him.

"Was he arrested?" Edward's tone was flat as he held my gaze. I felt my cheeks warming up and I looked away to Alice.

"Umm I don't know. He took off running right after the crash. I think the cops are still looking for him." Alice said then she smiled at me and got up and started towards the door, "I'll go check on Rose." She said subtly.

I got the hint that she was giving us privacy. My eyes shifted back to Edward who was frowning. He got his cell phone out and dialed a number. "Seth, I need you to get Officer Welkin to call me as soon as possible." He flipped his phone shut and looked at me. His gaze was heated and I had to look away before I melted under it. His fingers started to slide through my hair and we could both hear my heart going from adagio to allegro.

"How're you feeling Bella? Alice called me about the accident and I got here as fast as possible." He continued to lean over me stroking my hair gently and gave me a peck on the lips. "I've asked my friend who is a neurologist to come and have a look at you. He's with the doctor who treated you right now, going over your reports."

"You didn't have to, the doctor said I m fine." I shifted a bit to the left to create some space between us as someone might walk in and see Edward almost on top of me.

Edward took this as an invitation to bunk with me and proceeded to lie down besides me. _Crap._

"Umm someone might walk in." I voiced my concern and looked towards the door.

"So?" He turned towards me and put his arm over my waist pulling me into his side. I remained quiet listening to my heart beat through the heart monitor. My heart had started to revert to its normal rate. Edward's face was in my hair and he took a deep breathe.

"When I got Alice's phone call, I felt like I couldn't breathe and I drove like a madman to get to you." I felt his warm breathe on my ear. "Were you driving fast?" he asked after being silent for a few minutes.

"I don't think so. I remember getting out of the spa and driving towards home." I tried to concentrate on remembering the moments before accident. I remembered the spa, then getting into the car. I was following Rose, and then I got a call on my cell….._Oh my God! Angela called me to tell me that the company responsible for driving Emmett out of business was owned by Edward._

"It was you." I whispered.

"What did u say love?" Edward tilted his face up while still holding me.

I pushed his shoulder back and sat up.

"Bella, you should lie down." He tried to pull me back by my hand.

"Don't tell me what to do." I spat out pulling my hand from his and this time I shoved him harder and scooted away from him. He sat up and I saw that his eyes were filled with hurt and confusion.

"Bella, you're acting weird. I m getting worried." He frowned.

"Offcourse you are. It worries you when I don't play a nice little girl that goes along with your sick fantasies." I tried to keep my voice low but failed miserably. Edward bolted up and glared at me.

"Bella, you're hurt and you have no idea what you're talking about, so I'll let this little slip of yours slide by. But don't ever talk to me in that tone again." He pointed his finger towards me and I flinched for a moment. But then I realized that he would not do anything irrational in a hospital and decided to give him a piece of my mind.

"I'll talk in whatever tone I damn well want to. You – you destroyed my brother. He worked day and night investing his life savings to set up his business. And you stole projects from him so you can pretend to save him afterwards. Did you think I'd never find out? Do you have any idea what he went through in the past 6 months????" Tears were flowing freely from my ayes and my voice was getting hoarse. "You drove him out of his house. If it weren't for Rose, my brother's spirit would have been crushed. Then you show up on your fucking high horse pretending to rescue him and expect me to fall for you. Some fucking nerve you have!!!"

Edward was quiet but his eyes were burning a darker shade of green and his jaws flexed as he gritted his teeth. Suddenly his cell rang and he flipped it open. "Yes. Okay Seth, I m up in room 212 just come up and wait outside the door, I'll talk to you later." He tossed his cell on the side table and turned towards me.

"You should leave. I m a bloody lawyer and my dad is a cop, I'll bury you alive for everything you've done" I hissed at him.

"Enough!" Edward's expression turned livid and he growled in a low menacing voice. "You know better than to threaten me Bella. I m not going to deny that I did it but you of all people should know by now that I'll not stop at anything when it concerns you."

He sauntered decidedly towards me and nervousness took over me as I skittered back until I felt my back pressed to the head board. His eyes were cold and his face was red with fury.

"You look like a kitten trying to pass for a lioness right now. If I weren't so furious, I'd have been turned on" He chuckled darkly. Then his expression turned somber.

"Do you know what I discovered from this little outburst of yours?" Edward hissed furiously. I stayed speechless.

He got on the bed and crawled towards me, until his face was only inches from me. "I found out that you still have hope. Hope that you can get away from me." He brushed hair away from my forehead and I grimaced. "I know you pretended to go along with everything I asked, but believe me sweetheart I'll make you love me with all your heart one day."

"Now that you know it was me, I think I should tell you the rest of my plans." Edward shifted to sit beside me and placed his chin on my trembling shoulder and stroked my arm. I shuddered and my heart beat went wild again. "You see, Emmett is currently working on a children's hospital. I m funding the construction for it and I have complete access to the construction site and to the raw materials used in it. I m just an investor in his business so if any freak accident happens because of low quality material, like the roof getting collapsed or a wall falling down, Emmett would not only be arrested, he'd go away for a very, very long time." He bit on my ear lobe and I whimpered with horror "Then there's always the other option of using Seth's gun on him. Don't worry love, I won't kill him or anything but I've heard that it's quite inconvenient if you lose a finger or two."

Edward continued in a calm voice like he was telling me a bedtime story. Sobs erupted through my throat and his hand stroked my cheek wiping away my tears. "My second plan includes stashing drugs and wads of cash at your father's house then getting him accused of stealing evidence and taking bribes." He held my chin forcefully and turned my head to face him. "Should I go on love, or have you gotten the picture?" Tears were streaking down my cheeks and I shook my head.

His fingers tightened on my chin and it got painful. "Edward you're hurting me." I squeaked through tears. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine.

"No sweetheart. Not yet." His whisper chilled me to the bones. _Does it mean he'll hurt me next? _He let go of my chin and slipped his arms around me.

"Bella, you're a smart woman so you must have figured out by now that you can never outrun me. So stop even thinking about trying it. Now that you have the detailed break-up of just how I plan to bring you on your knees, you better not try to provoke me to put these plans into action." The nightmare I had the other night came screaming back to me. He kept tightening his hold around me till it got uncomfortable around my ribs. "Here's what will happen love. You'll continue to play along with my sick fantasy as you so tenderly put it and I'll put these plans of mine on hold indefinitely. And once you're home, we'll decide on the proper punishment you should get on your childish outburst."

I shivered and panic started to flow to all my nerve endings on the word punishment as images of hand cuffs and riding crops flooded my mind. "Would you, hurt me?" my voice was quivering.

"When I said before that I'll never hurt you, I meant it. Physically I'll never ever hurt you darling but there will be repercussions to your actions from today. We can't have a repeat of this episode of yours ever again. Think of it as more of a penalty" He moved me a little lower on the bed and grasped my shoulders pushing them down making me lie on my back. He lied down beside me just like he had done before my failed outburst. The weak sickness that took over my body had numbed me to the core and my sobs continued in silence.

"What kind of penalty?" A faint whisper escaped my lips.

"Well, I think moving up the wedding date would be a penalty well suited for you. Also because I m getting tired of threatening you every other day and one of these days your stubbornness might force me to follow through. So, I've decided that we should get married tomorrow." He paused and tilted his head to mine gauging my reaction but I stayed blank and bone searing tremors started jolting down my body.

"This is the only way we could end this vicious cycle of you acting out and me disciplining you." He mused arrogantly. "And in exchange to a promise of good behavior on your part, I'll transfer all my shares in Emmett's company to his name."

My last shred of hope and self preservation vaporized at the end of his declaration.

"Do you promise." My voice sounded foreign to my own ears. He cradled my head closer to his chest. "I promise, I'll call my lawyer to draw up the papers and I'll sign them just after we've said I Do" He said and then kissed the top of my head.

I nodded and then my shoulders started to shake and I couldn't control my sobs as understanding dawned on me that I had just sold my soul to the devil so my family could live in peace. Edward kept my head close to his chest and tried unsuccessfully to hush me.

"Stop crying and act normal. You never know how'd I act if someone walked in on you crying and interfered in our business." He cooed and I strangled my sobs in my chest. He wiped my face with his hand and started to hum a lullaby. It got completely silent and the room only resonated with his humming and the low beeps from the monitor. After few moments my breathing slowed down and Edward nuzzled my neck sighing contently.

"I hope you guys are decent, we're coming in." Alice chimed opening the door.

"Offcourse Alice, I m a gentleman." Edward chuckled in response. I wasn't surprised on how fast he changed his demeanor.

Alice and Rose walked in together and arched their brows as they took in the view of Edward and me lying on the bed together.

"See Rose, I told you I was doing the right thing by not letting that nosy nurse interrupt these two love birds." She turned to Edward as he sat up. "Edward you owe me big for giving you 30 minutes of premium privacy" Alice giggled as Rose muttered a little Ew.

"That's why you're my favorite." Edward joked pointing at Alice and she grinned while Rose rolled her eyes.

Rose came over to the other side of the bed and stroked my arm. "Thank God you're fine. I had a heart attack when I saw your car in the back view mirror. I've called Emmett; he is in Newark meeting a potential client and will be here tomorrow. When he asked to speak with you, I told him you needed rest and you'll call him in morning." She bent down and kissed me on the cheek. "Alice was a complete mess when you were passed out." She whispered quietly. I glanced towards Alice and remembered that she had lost her parents in an accident so this must have been very hard for her. I felt guilty for putting my friends through all of this. Suddenly I wondered if Rose had called my parents or not.

"Rose I don't want mom and dad to find out about it. I m okay now and I don't want them to worry over nothing." My voice was still hoarse from all my crying and my face was still red. Rose must have noticed it because her brows burrowed as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"No, I haven't called them, but I think you should." She paused and bent closer. "Bella, have you been crying?" She asked gently. I risked a glance towards Edward who cocked his head to side and his eyes narrowed a bit warning me. I looked away quickly and before I could come up with a reply that'd satisfy Rose, Alice spoke up.

"Rose, stop playing momma bear, we're all adults here and we know why Bella's face is all flushed and Edward is looking like he could kill someone. We just interrupted an excellent chance of someone living out their fantasy of playing a helpless patient to a hot doctor." Alice started to chuckle but Rose didn't look convinced. With Edward's latest manic episode and Seth standing outside my room I had to make everything peachy in next few seconds.

"Rose I m really tired, I just want to go home and you guys did interrupt us." I conjured up all my energy and formed a smile on my face.

"God Bella, sick people die here. You can't jump your boyfriend here. Have some respect!" Rose chastised me in her mock mommy voice.

"Yes mom." I grinned and they both laughed easing my tension. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Heather walked in followed by a guy in jeans and green T-shirt with blond hair and blue eyes. He was quite good looking and I heard an audible gasp escaping Alice's mouth.

"Miss Swan how're you feeling? Are you still experiencing any disorientation?" Dr. Heather asked me while she and the blond guy went to the machines and started checking my heart rate on the monitor.

"Please call me Bella. I m fine and no, I can recall everything perfectly now." I replied and saw Dr. Heather frown when she went through the ECG strip. "Bella, your heart rate went dangerously up 15 minutes ago, were you okay?" She looked at me concerned.

I started to stutter, "umm I… I…"

"We were just kissing." Edward interrupted me answering her coolly. I nearly died of embarrassment turning crimson and my 2 moronic best friends started to giggle.

Dr. Heather smiled and the blond guy gave me a sly smile like he was in on a secret.

"Very well, this is Dr. Whitlock and he's here on Mr. Masen's request. I've walked him through your reports and CT scan. I'll leave now so Mr. Whitlock can give you his assessment." She waved her hand towards the blond guy and then left the room.

The guy who was apparently Dr. Whitlock walked over to Edward and they both hugged.

"Thanks for coming over Jasper, I was worried sick." Edward said gratefully.

"Offcourse, why wouldn't I when my brother needed me." Jasper grinned and then looked towards Alice for a moment longer than necessary, raising an eyebrow he turned to Edward. "Aren't you going to introduce me to these beautiful ladies?"

"I'll introduce you to everyone." Edward smiled and I saw how quickly he transformed into a different person now that his friend was here. "This is Bella. And this is Alice and that's Rose. They're Bella's friends." Edward went and patted Jasper's shoulder. "Everyone this is my best friend since I was 9, Jasper Whitlock. He's also a renowned neurologist and I asked him to come and have a look at Bella's reports so we can be sure everything is fine."

Jasper said hello to me, I nodded in acknowledgement. He shook Rose's hand then he went and took Alice's hand in his and instead of shaking it he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

"You've kept me waiting" Alice murmured with glazed eyes. Jasper raised a brow and bent his head like he was bowing. "My lady, please accept my sincerest apologies" He said in a charming voice and Alice almost fainted swooning her ass off.

"You're forgiven Kind Sir" She curtsied a bit giggling like an idiot. Rose rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of dork and dorker. They just stood there with their gazes locked on each other. I looked at Rose and she had the same surprised look on her face as mine. We had never seen Alice make a complete ass of herself like this before. On second thought we had, but this was a new situation. Edward also stood with his mouth hanging open. Rose decided to intervene and stalked towards the duo in trance.

"Okay I m going to gag soon if this dorkfest continues. Alice! Control your hormones." Then she looked at Jasper who were still unresponsive and huffed then faced Edward. "Edward, control your friend." When nobody moved Rose turned to Alice. "Alice, snap out of it!" She shook Alice's shoulders. "And you, go check Bella's vitals or something instead of checking her friend out." She instructed Jasper.

Jasper snapped out of his stupor. He blushed and Edward barked out a laugh. I could see that Alice was instantly attracted to Jasper but then a dark thought crept into my mind, _what if Jasper was from Almania, then Ally would go through the same hell I m going through._

My heart rate picked up and I began hyperventilating. Edward was the first one by my side. "Bella, love are you alright?" He took my face in his hands.

I saw Rose holding Alice's hands in hers as she stood on the side.

Jasper scurried towards me and started to check my pulse. "It's okay; she's just having a mild panic attack." He told Edward and placed a stethoscope over my chest. "It'll be better if you guys step outside, I'll call you in when I finish her check up."

Edward nodded and began to walk towards the door all the while keeping his eyes on me. Rose and Alice followed him leaving me alone with Jasper.

"You're okay Bella. Try to breathe through your mouth." Jasper put an oxygen mask on my mouth. "You're just experiencing a mild panic attack. It'll subside in a few minutes. Just try to concentrate on your breathing." His voice was very soothing and I felt my self relax a bit. After a few minutes I felt completely at ease and I started breathing normally.

"That's it. Just keep going like that." He removed the oxygen mask and patted my head and removed all the stick ons of the monitors from me. After turning all the machines off, he dragged a chair near my bed and sat on it putting his hands behind his head and looked like he was contemplating something.

"So, what did Edward do to get you to go out with him?" It was a simple question but the way he asked it proved that he knew of Edward's psychotic tendencies.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I wasn't going to spill my guts to a guy I met 3 minutes ago who also happened to be best buddies with the prince of darkness.

"Don't play dumb with me Bella. I've been hearing stories all my life about how Edward is supposed to drag a woman by her hair to the altar if she refused to go his way. I saw your ECG results and your heart rate went through the roof when you were alone with him and I m very good at sensing emotions. I bet my ass it wasn't lust that caused such a reaction, it was pure fright." He challenged me and I looked away.

"I don't expect you to confide in me but believe me when I tell you that you can talk to me whenever you want. I know Edward comes off as a pushy and domineering jack ass but once you look past his hard exterior, you'll see that he's a wonderful human being." I wanted to snort at his idiotic attempt at making Edward look even a bit humane.

"Are you from Almania?" I asked him curtly.

"Why would you ask that?" his brows burrowed in confusion.

"Because I saw you making goo goo eyes at my friend who's a sister to me and I wanted to know if you believe in dragging a woman by her hair to the altar." I used his own words on him. He chuckled.

"Oh God no. I m pure American. Born and raised in Texas." He tipped his imaginary hat at me. "So, Alice is single?" _Oh No, he didn't!!_ I did not want Alice involved in Edward's shit. Maybe Edward had asked Jasper to trap Alice so he could continue to enjoy watching me squirm in his grasp.

"Dr. Whitlock, Stay the fuck away from my sister and tell Edward that he could mess all he wants with me but my family is off limits. If I see you even breath in her direction I'll castrate you with your favorite scalpel. Edward might have cornered me but I'll be damned if I let anyone else weasel his way into my family for that demonic spawn's benefit." I said sternly.

He sat perched on the edge of the chair looking surprised? "Edward did a real number on you didn't he? I didn't expect a beautiful woman like yourself to be so bitter and paranoid." he held the same calming voice.

"Well, let's assume your friend did something horrible, what would you do about it?"

"I could confront him but I doubt that'll do any good. You see once Edward makes up his mind, there's no going back. But I promise you that I'll try to help you understand him better. Bella, I've seen him change a lot after he told me about you. He's a lot happier and relaxed. The only thing negative in him is his constant fear that you'll disappear on him one day." I led out a very un-lady like snort on this.

"Where the fuck would I go??" I retorted.

"I see that you're too upset to talk about this now, but we'll discuss this when you're calm. And please trust me when I tell you that I had no secret agenda when I asked if Alice was single." Jasper was soon interrupted as Edward walked in followed by Alice and Rose.

"She's perfectly fine now, you guys should relax." Jasper announced grinning and Alice looked at Jasper with her mouth half open and she appeared to be drooling.

Rose swatted Alice on the back of her head and walked to my bed and sat on the edge while Alice slumped down in a chair by the wall mumbling 'bitch'.

Edward looked at Jasper questioningly and he shook his head as a reply. They appeared to be having a silent conversation. Suddenly Edward's phone rang on the bedside table. My eyes went to it and the glowing caller ID display said "Welkin".

Edward picked up his cell and saw the caller ID. "I have to take this; I'll be right back darling." He said to me and stepped out.

"So, Dr. Whitlock when could Bella go home?" The way Alice said Doctor, it felt like I was watching a low-budget porno.

"Bella could go home now and please call me Jasper." Jasper smiled and Alice blushed. "Only if you call me Alice." She giggled. _Seriously God, you should take me now…Demonic spawn I can bear but sunshine vomiting horny teenagers?? No freakin way…._

Rose glared at Alice and cleared her throat. "Thanks for coming. We really appreciate it." She said then she looked at me. "So, Bella, are you ready to go home sweetie?" she asked me cheerfully. Edward had entered the room just in time to hear her finish her sentence.

"Actually Bella has asked me to take her to my place tonight, and we'll leave as soon as we get discharge papers, which will be here any minute since Jasper said that she can go home now." Edward came forward and gave me cold stare silently telling me to back up his story.

I took a deep breath and turned to face Rose. "Actually, I was planning on spending the weekend at Edward's before I ended up here. And now that we know I m okay, I'll go ahead and start the weekend with my boyfriend."

"Bella, you hussy, what happened to our pledge, sisters before misters." Alice feigned hurt and I stuck my tongue out at her as Edward and Jasper started to laugh.

Rose frowned then her brows relaxed. "Okay we get it, but promise me you'll call us if you need anything." Her concern warmed my heart and tears threatened to escape my eyes again.

"I promise." I said solemnly.

"Before we leave can we have a word with Bella in private please?" Alice got up from the chair and walked to where Rose was sitting.

Edward looked at me and then at Jasper. "Offcourse, we'll wait outside." Jasper said and grabbed Edward by the arm and walked out the room dragging him behind. Edward gave me a stern parting look before disappearing out the door.

Alice looked at Rose. "Should I do it or would you like to?" She asked her cryptically.

"What is it guys?" I asked them.

Rose shook her head and Alice led out a sigh. Then Alice reached her hand into one of her pockets and fished out a chain. My chain to be more precise, which had the diamond ring hung on it. She started to swing it like a pendulum in front of me.

"Bella, we found this on you after you were placed into the ambulance. We thought about asking you about it but then we decided against it." Alice paused and motioned Rose to say something. "We thought that if you haven't told us anything about this gigantic rock, then we won't ask you for any explanation. You can tell us when ever you feel you're ready." Rose patted my knee.

I gave them both a watery smile. "Thank you. I promise that I'll tell you guys soon."

Alice came near me and fastened the chain back onto my neck.

"Would it be cheesy if I asked for a group hug right now?" I asked and they both chuckled. Alice and Rose both jumped forward and hugged me on the bed and then we started to laugh.

There was a knock on the door and Edward tilted his head inside. "May I come back to my girlfriend now?" he looked like a child ready to be chastised. _Fucking asshole. _

"Yup, we were leaving now. Bye ballerina" We said goodbyes as Alice and Rose got up to leave. They got to the door when Alice suddenly halted. "Hey lover boy, I was wondering if you'd…." Edward didn't let her finish.

"I already gave your number to Jasper who by the way thinks you're drop dead gorgeous." He smirked and Alice squealed. Rose rolled her eyes and dragged Alice out of the room.

"C'mon let's get you home love." Edward cooed and helped me up. A nurse entered the room with a wheelchair and I grunted.

"I m not a freaking handicapped, I'll walk." I whined.

"It's either the wheelchair or me carrying you. You decide love." Edward said playfully and the nurse giggled like a moron. I mumbled some choice words under my breath and sat on the wheel chair.

Once we were out the hospital's main gate Edward waved to someone and seconds later a black and shiny Mercedes pulled over in front of us. The driver got out and I saw it was Seth. He opened the back door as Edward helped me inside. Edward then went around and slid in beside me as Seth took the driver's seat.

Edward held my hand in his and we stayed quiet the whole ride. When the car stopped I looked out the window to see a beautiful brownstone house.

Edward got out then bent down and scooped me up in his arms. I protested but he went ahead saying "Bella, now that you'll be my wife, I'll carry you over all the thresholds we come across."

I swallowed the bile that had risen in my throat. Edward nodded at Seth who opened the front door for us.

Once we were inside the house, Edward carried me into a huge bedroom. "This is our room love, I hope you like it here." He announced cheerfully. _Yeah right….._"Bella, I've placed your clothes for the night in the bathroom. Why don't go change then we'll try to get some sleep."

I went into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I took a quick shower and changed into the pink Victoria's Secret silk pajamas Edward had placed for me.

When I walked out, Edward was already in the bed. He pulled the covers off the side and patted the bed motioning me to get into the covers. I obliged quietly. After I had lied down, he tucked me in and leaned over to close the lights. As it got dark, two strong arms drew me closer into his chest and he let out a content sigh. I don't remember what time my mind finally shut down.

Next morning I woke up to something soft and warm against my lips. I opened my eyes to see two green emeralds peering right at me. I frowned signaling my distaste but he kept kissing me for few minutes.

"I m sorry for attacking you in your sleep but I just couldn't help myself." He cooed after breaking off the kiss. "I'll go and start breakfast. You should freshen up and join me."

Edward kissed my forehead and leapt off the bed and left for downstairs. I went to the bathroom and then went downstairs to join him.

Strong scents of coffee, vanilla and cinnamon assaulted my senses and I followed the wafts to the kitchen. Edward was stacking pancakes on a plate wearing a green apron.

"Bella go on, sit over there." He gestured towards a chair and I sat down. He placed a plate in front of me and I started to eat. We finished breakfast in peace and quiet. Just as Edward was putting the plates away, Seth came barreling into the kitchen.

"Boss you should watch channel 23 now." He said and Edward picked up a remote. I noticed that there was a small TV perched on the furthest right counter.

Once he switched to the channel Seth had asked for, a fake blond appeared reading the news and I saw that both Seth and Edward's eyes were glued to the TV. That flared up my curiosity and I also tried to focus on the news.

"Police has discovered the body of Alonzo Lonnie Wallace behind an alley earlier in the morning today. Wallace was reportedly involved in an accident last night where he was driving under the influence of alcohol. His car crashed into a black Escalade injuring the 24 year old female driver. Wallace was shot execution style at the back of his head. Police has yet to make any statement."

Edward turned off the TV. "Good work Seth. Now go and be at the chapel at 4. You have to pick up Bella. Don't be late; I want everything right for my wedding today." He grinned and Seth smiled.

Edward then looked at me but I remained frozen as I let the numb and cold hopelessness claw its way to my soul.

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**Please Review....**


	9. Mr and Mrs Masen

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and Special thanks to MissGuidedAngel for an awesome review....I won't be giving Edward any personality makeovers... i hated it when in other stories Edward would wake up a completely different guy....So, here you go....my next chap... Hope you guys like it...**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"Police has discovered the body of Alonzo Lonnie Wallace behind an alley earlier in the morning today. Wallace was reportedly involved in an accident last night where he was driving under the influence of alcohol. His car crashed into a black Escalade injuring the 24 year old female driver. Wallace was shot execution style at the back of his head. Police has yet to make any statement."

Edward turned off the TV. "Good work Seth. Now go and be at the chapel at 4. You have to pick up Bella. Don't be late; I want everything right for my wedding today." He grinned and Seth smiled.

Edward then looked at me but I remained frozen as I let the numb and cold hopelessness claw its way to my soul.

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**Chapter 9**

After watching the news about my soon to be husband's latest victim, I had quietly excused myself to the bedroom feigning to have a migraine. I then drew myself a bath and cried hysterically in the water till there were no more tears left in me.

Two mini breakdowns and an hour in water later, I changed into my pajamas. I was standing now in front of the giant vanity in 'our bedroom'. I looked at the room's reflection in the mirror. There was a big four poster bed in the middle and the walls were painted a light shade of gold.

Before meeting Edward I used to have a thing for four poster beds and I used to picture my perfect house with a mahogany one in the bedroom. But now it looked like an Aztec offering altar where I'd be giving myself as a sacrifice to the Devil himself.

I picked up a brush and ran it through the tangled mess of my hair and cursed myself for not pouring the whole jar of conditioner when I washed them. After I was somewhat satisfied that I didn't resemble Medusa anymore, I hauled myself to the bed and climbed up to the center. I pulled my knees up putting my arms around them and placed my head in between.

Now that I was in my official 'extreme panic' posture, I started to take deep cleansing breathes. I'll be getting married today. Married…_married_…._**married…..**_

God, I m getting married today against my will, without my maid of honor, my bridesmaid, my best friends, my sisters, my brother, my mom and dad.

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to imagine my perfect wedding day with the people I loved there for me and images started to riddle my mind…. I could see Rose wearing something bold and red making inappropriate gestures towards Emmett in the house of Lord…. Alice in her hyper charged state barking out instructions for flower arrangement and kicking the caterer in the nuts when the hors d'oeuvres could not live up to her expectations….. Emmett looking gorgeous in a tuxedo cracking vulgar jokes with our great aunts within earshot….My mom giving me Grandma Swan's silver combs with sapphire flowers for my something old and blue….and my dad walking me down the aisle giving my hand into the hand of the man I loved, threatening him a bit so my husband would take care of his little girl.

Sobs made their way up my throat when I realized that my dad won't be walking me down the aisle today as I'll be dragged kicking and screaming to the altar.

_How the hell would I go through with this??_ I did not love Edward and what ever attraction I had felt towards him, vaporized when he broke me down yesterday with his scare tactics. And the killing spree was definitely not helping either.

The bed dipped on my left as I felt someone crawl up to sit beside me. I hadn't heard any footsteps but I knew it was Edward.

"I know you're a wreck after watching the news." He moved and placed himself right behind me. "Bella, that man had several DUI arrests. He wasn't going to mend his ways. If it weren't you, it could have been someone else, someone's child, someone's mother or someone's father. I did a favor to the world." I kept my head down and he placed a hand on my back and started gliding it up and down.

"As for the early wedding, I m sorry darling things had to come to this." He said softly while rubbing my back. "I lose all my coherent thoughts whenever I feel like you want to stay away from me."

"I know you are upset. I'll spend the rest of our lives making up for what ever hurt I have caused you, but I can't let you walk out on me love. From the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were it for me. I knew I had found my soul mate." He almost whispered the last part. He moved forward and brushed my hair off my neck and kissed the sensitive skin there. His lips lingered there for a while then he exhaled a deep sigh giving me tingles. _Okay, so the attraction part isn't completely lost._

"I've asked my lawyer Tanya to draw up the transfer papers for Emmett's shares. I'll sign them right after the wedding. I have also asked her to come over and help you get ready for today. She'll be here soon with your dress." I started to cry again and my sniffles were getting louder.

"It'll be okay love, Shhh…We'll be so good together, you'll see." He snaked his arms around me molding me to his chest and started to rock us.

I lifted my head and turned around to see him. As soon as he saw my face he drew in a sharp breathe and pulled me into a hug with iron grips. "I m sorry for making you cry. I'll be good now, I promise." He wiped away tears from my face. "I'll give you anything you want, just stop being sad my love."

"Would you let me go?" I murmured and then felt him tense up.

"No." He scoffed and then laid down pulling me along by my arm into his embrace. "Anything but that." He sighed.

He began humming the same lullaby from the hospital. I was exhausted both physically and mentally, so I began to drift off.

I woke up from a restless nap feeling Edward's hand caressing my back as my head rested on his shoulder.

"Are you up darling?" He asked and I nodded. "Rose and Alice called. You should call them back and also talk to your brother. Tell them we're going to my parent's house in the Hampton for lunch so they won't disturb us the whole afternoon."

"Okay." I don't think I was capable of actual conversations anymore but I had to call my family to let them know that I was fine. Edward sat up and handed me his cell and I punched in my home's phone number. Edward's hand reached over and he turned on the cell phone's speaker.

The display said Bella's Home…I felt a pang in my heart. God I had to stop breaking down every time I thought about how my life will be over in a few hours or I'll end up having a nervous breakdown. Or maybe a breakdown would get me out of this satanic ritual. But knowing Edward I was certain that even if I was completely paralyzed, he'd get me to the altar strapped on a gurney, plus a neurologist was at his disposal 24/7 so I could not fake any mental illnesses.

"Yellow!" Alice's perky sound came after third ring.

"Hi Ally, It's me sorry I couldn't call earlier. I was really tired and I fell asleep." I was having the hardest time keeping my voice void of any emotions.

"It's okay ballerina, you just make sure you get plenty of rest. How's lover boy treating you?"

"Edward's been taking very good care of me. I m feeling much better now." I replied and Edward squeezed my hand tenderly.

"I must say Bella, he kept looking at you funny last night, like he was going to eat you with a side dressing of honey mustard. So any chance you woke up a woman this fine morning. Come on, don't be shy my child, tell Aunty Ally all." I stifled a groan and saw Edward grinning.

"Alice please, must we always begin the day by discussing my love life?? I actually called to tell you guys that I'll be going to Edward's parent's house at the Hampton and will be back …." I trailed off and looked at Edward questioningly who mouthed 'tomorrow' I nodded and replied to Alice quickly. "Tomorrow….tomorrow???" The second time I said it, it came out as a question. Then it sank in, that tonight would be the doomed night when we'll be consummating the marriage made in hell. My eyes went wide with panic again and I looked at Edward who was smirking.

"Bella...Bella… What'll you wear? Oh my God…should I come over and fix your hair? Sweetie you need a proper dress, these people could be your in-laws" Alice's high pitched squeal brought me out of my stupor. She was in a full blown Alice's-makeover alert.

"No Alice, I can manage and don't worry, Edward has bought me a dress, I m sure it's pretty." I uttered stoically and Edward nodded with a smile.

"Oh okay, Good luck with scary mommy though. Rose and Emmett have gone out to get your car to the workshop. I'll ask them to call you when they're back." Alice said and Edward gave me a confused look mouthing 'mommy' and I shrugged.

"Umm, it's okay I'll call them later myself. I'll go now, I love you Ally….you're the best sister anyone can ask for." My tears had begun to soak my face at the end and Edward snatched the phone and turned it off just after Alice said bye.

I tried to hide my face forming a curtain with my hair but Edward was having none of that and he tucked my hair back and kissed my tear streaked cheek.

"You did fine darling. Now we're going to have no interruptions during the wedding. I've asked Father Andrew to marry us at the St. Patrick's church. He's a close friend of my dad's." Edward informed me. _Great, just great…even God was on Edward's side. _

"It's 1:30 now, I've made you a sandwich for lunch, it's on the desk. Tanya got here when you were sleeping and is downstairs waiting for you. You should get up and start to get ready." He said and bent down so his eyes were on level with mine. "I m not supposed to see you in the wedding dress, so I'll leave now."

He smiled and captured my lip in a passionate kiss but I remained unresponsive. He didn't notice it or chose to ignore and rolled out of the bed. He walked to the door and turned his head. "I'll be the one standing at the altar. Please don't make me wait. I m not a patient man." He said playfully and then he left.

After finishing the sandwich, I went back to the bed. I did not want to move so I pretty much stayed limp on the bed. Maybe, just maybe there's a way out of this…. Then I began berating myself for even thinking about it. I knew the consequences; he said he'd hunt down everyone I cared about. I was still shuddering on my last thought when there was a knock on the door. A woman tilted her head in.

"Can I come in?" She asked in an annoying nasal voice.

"Yes." I said and she walked in hoisting a garment bag with one hand and a big makeup box and few bags in the other. She was tall with strawberry blond hair and violet eyes. I could tell that she had some work done on the girls and I wanted to stand up and applaud on how she had managed to squeeze those puppies in that tiny excuse of a blouse she was wearing.

"Hi, I m Tanya Denali, Mr. Edward has asked me to bring your gown and help you get ready." She said as she waved the bag like a rattle.

"Just leave it in the closet. I m perfectly capable of getting ready myself, so you can leave me the fuck alone." I had no reason to be rude to her but in my defense I had maxed out my patience 2 days ago.

"I m not insinuating that you aren't, I m merely following orders." She said calmly like she was expecting me to be difficult and walked to the closet. She came back after hanging the garment bag and placed the box and the bags on the bed. "We have only 2 hours to get ready so we can get to the church on time. Would you like to shower before I do your hair and makeup?"

"Don't waste your breath on it, hell is going to freeze over before I make myself all pretty for that demonic fucktard." I scoffed.

"Miss Swan, I assure you that Mr. Edward is not going to be thrilled if you show up like a hobo. And believe me when I tell you that you don't want to make him unhappy." Tanya said gravely like we were sitting around a camp fire exchanging horror stories.

"What would he possibly do? Kill me?" I challenged her.

"No, he wouldn't hurt you but I might have to face his wrath for not following orders." I sensed that her voice shook a bit.

I groaned. "Why are you doing this?? You are a lawyer for God's sake; you're supposed to turn these monsters in. What kind of a lawyer sides with mobsters?" I said through gritted teeth

Tanya stayed quiet and gave me a reprimanding look, like I was a chubby toddler throwing tantrums for candy.

"You sold your soul for what??? A few bucks, penthouse and a Lamborghini?" I seethed.

"I hate Lamborghinis and I don't need to explain myself to you." Tanya retorted and huffed out in annoyance. She sat on the bed and started to wring her hands. After a few minutes she looked up at me.

"Mr. Masen sr. has been a father to me after my parents' deaths" She said in low voice. "My dad was a Consigliere to Mr. Masen for 20 years before he died. After his death, Mr. Masen put me through college and gave me a home to live. I chose myself to work for him just like my father had."

"So, you spent your childhood with Edward? You guys must be good friends then."

"No, Mr. Edward went to boarding schools all his life and for holidays he used to go to Almania. We're not even on first name basis." She said wistfully and I wished that Edward had chosen Tanya instead of me. She seams to like him just the way he is…..evil and psychotic.

"So what exactly does your job here entail, because I m sure baby sitting your boss's not-so-willing bride is it." I asked her bitterly.

"Well, I manage the legal affairs and anything else that's asked of me." Tanya looked at her wrist watch and frowned. "Miss Swan, we're a bit short on time, so please go take a quick shower and let me do your hair and make up. I m sure you don't want Mr. Edward to make good on his promise to harm your family."

I cringed on Tanya's blatant attempt at reminding me about the consequences of making the Prince of darkness unhappy.

For the next 2 hours I left myself completely on Tanya's mercy. She had worked diligently on my hair transforming them into soft curls cascading down my head like a waterfall and she also listened to my screams of 'less is more' and kept my make up soft and natural and only gave me a bit of smokey eyes.

After my hair and makeup was done, Tanya went into the closet to retrieve my dress.

She picked up a bag from the bed and handed it to me. I almost gagged when I saw the flimsy scraps of lingerie inside.

"What the fuck is this??" I waved the offending scraps at her.

"Miss Swan it's a bra, but I m sure you know them as foundation garments." She let out a nasal snort. _Yeah, laugh on…just because I m not a whore like you._

"There's no fucking way I'll put these on, he's going to take me right there in the house of Lord if he even sniffs these on me."

"Miss Swan, please put these on, we don't have time for your theatrics anymore, you can choose to go commando but with the church being a bit chilly I m pretty sure your high beams will be on and Mr. Edward might be tempted to bend you over….." She was cut short by my scream and then she smirked.

I wanted to punch her in the face but she was right, the porntastic lingerie was way better than going commando and the blue bra I had on right now would show through the white fabric. So with a groan I put them on. I was fucked anyway so I might as well do it in style wearing Agent Provocateur.

After the lingerie fiasco Tanya helped me into my wedding dress and fastened all the straps and buttons.

A few minutes later, I was standing in front of the full length mirror and felt my jaw falling to the floor. I looked beautiful, there was no way the woman in the mirror was me.....it was someone who was a sight to behold wearing an exquisite dress.

The dress was ivory satin, covered with antique looking lace, with tight-fitting sleeves. It was a beyond beautiful gown, tight near the waist, with a modest neckline and flowing body with the lace dividing in the front to reveal the shimmering satin beneath. I was still admiring the heavenly gown when Tanya came and put on diamond earrings on my ears. She then fingered the chain with my engagement ring I had on me and tucked it inside my dress.

Tanya brought another bag and pulled out cream colored jimmy choos. I slid them on and they were a perfect fit.

"How the hell did you know all my size?" I asked her in genuine surprise.

"Mr. Edward gave me all the sizes." She replied all the while smoothing down the lace and giving me a skeptical look. "You shouldn't be surprised though, he knows everything about you." I strangled my desire to kick Creepward in the ass and settled on a shudder.

Tanya circled around me once more and then got her cell and started to call someone.

"Seth, we're ready, bring the car please." Tanya flipped her phone shut and then refreshed her lip gloss in front of the mirror. "Miss Swan, let's go."

I pouted like a schoolgirl and fought a strong urge to cling onto a bed post and started to follow Tanya down the stairs. Once we got to the foyer a burly man opened the main door and we stepped out to the porch. "Who was that?" I asked Tanya pointing at the human Mt. St. Helen.

"He's your bodyguard. Mr. Edward has appointed him for your protection." Tanya said looking back at him.

"Protection from what?" I asked baffled.

"Our ride is here." She chirped ignoring my question and I looked up to see the black Mercedes. Seth got off and gave a friendly wave.

"Hi Seth, I thought you'd be bringing a hearse to transport me to the momentous occasion." I said bitterly.

"Miss Swan, you look lovely, my boss is a lucky man." Seth grinned and opened the back door for me.

"Please Seth, call me Bella. People who've witnessed a homicide together should be on first name basis." I said sarcastically and Seth grimaced.

Tanya helped me get into the car and then went around to slide in with me. The bodyguard dude got into the front passenger seat and Seth started to drive to the church.

Cold sweat started to break all over my body. After 15 minutes into the car ride I was literally convulsing with panic on the inside.

"Tanya, please call me Bella." I just blurted out. I don't know why but I felt like I was going to face a firing squad. Tanya nodded her head like she understood the predicament I was in.

My stay of execution was short lived and Seth was soon parking the car in front of a white church. I drew in a deep breath and looked outside the window and saw Jasper waving from a distance.

The big dude got out and opened my door. Tanya quickly climbed out the car and scurried towards the church leaving me alone. I was planning on how to get off the car myself without tripping over my dress when Jasper jogged over my side and offered me his hand. I placed my hand in his and he helped me out.

After I got out, I smoothed my dress. Jasper covered my hand with his and gave me a reassuring smile. I just glared at him and he smiled coyly.

"It's time. Edward's is standing at the altar." He whispered softly to me and all my instincts started to scream asking me to bolt. But I knew I couldn't.

"Who'll walk me down the aisle?" I said aloud and tears started to prickle my eyes.

"I'd love to have this honor Bella, I think of you as my sister." Jasper's face was hopeful, waiting for me to say something. I nodded and he kissed me on the cheek. "You make a beautiful bride." Jasper nodded to the bodyguard and he went and stood by the car crossing his arms on his chest.

We walked to the church and Seth, who was following us quietly, opened a heavy wooden door and Jasper put his hand on the small of my back and gave me a gentle push forward. I walked in and found myself standing on the start of the aisle. All the chairs were empty and it felt like we were there for a funeral.

"Hold my hand." Jasper whispered and offered me his hand. I looked at him and reluctantly placed my hand in his. The ominous sound of Wagner's march started and I looked on the right to see a young boy playing the Cello skillfully.

We were halfway down the aisle when I chanced a gaze at the altar. It was adorned by all kinds of flowers forming a canopy above where Edward stood with the minister looking devastatingly handsome wearing a jet black Armani suit with crisp white shirt. I wondered that how in the world had he brought all of this together so quickly?

Edward was looking at me adoringly with a serene smile on his face. I found my steps faltering at his sight but Jasper's grip tightened on mine steadying me as he began tugging me along.

When we reached the altar, Jasper turned me to face Edward and placed my hand in his.

"Don't try anything stupid, he loves you and he'll never let you go." Jasper whispered in my ear warning me and kissed my cheek and I visibly flinched. He then went to stand behind Edward. Seth soon joined him after closing the chapel's door. Tanya came out of nowhere and stood behind me.

I could not look at Edward no matter how hard I tried. My heart was galloping and I was sweating profusely and I kept my head hung low.

I nearly jumped when the minister cleared his throat and felt Edward stifling a chuckle.

"I m father Andrews and you must be the beautiful Isabella" Father Andrews introduced himself and I only nodded. He gave me a kind smile.

"Dearly beloved," Father started and I bit my tongue to keep myself from screaming. "We are gathered here in front of God and in the face of this company to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Father Andrews looked at the only two guys present besides Edward and I thought I should take it as my cue to yell. As if he could read my mind, Edward's grip on my hand got tighter and I looked at his face to find him giving me a chiding glare.

"Very Well," Father Andrews smiled "Let's begin then." I looked up and saw Edward's eyes fixed on me. His eyes looked like they were out to possess me and I couldn't look away.

"Do you, Edward Anthony Masen, take Isabella Marie Swan, to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward and promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Edward's voice rang out loud with clarity and his eyes were filled with unspoken emotions and my heart did a flip flop for reasons unknown to me. Father Andrews turned to me now.

"Do you, Isabella Marie Swan, take Edward Anthony Masen, to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward and promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

I trembled and my breathing process halted. Did I? Could I stand here and lie in front of God?

A few minutes had passed and an eerie silence filled the chapel. Edward squeezed my hand but I dared not look at him now. I bit my lower lip and felt Edward's death grip beginning to choke the blood supply to my hand.

Jasper came forward and whispered something in Edward's ear who gave a faint nod. Jasper then took me aside by my hand and I turned around to see a confused look on Edward's face. When we in the corner where no body could hear us, Jasper whirled me around to face him.

"Bella, you can't do this to him, I'll not stand by and let you hurt Edward and I'll be damned if I let anyone make him feel unwanted again. If I have to, I'll sedate you myself so this marriage would be completed with or without your consent. So, be very careful of what you say next." Jasper said curtly and then dragged me back to the altar and placed my hand in Edward's once again.

"My child, you can speak your mind here, if you do not wish to marry him, say so." Father Andrews said gently._ This is it!! This is how it ends…Come on Bella, do it._

I gathered all the poise and non-existent confidence I possessed and braced myself before uttering the words that'll change my life for ever.

"I do." I whispered and then felt everything inside of me breaking into a million pieces.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur. I remember Edward slipping a ring on my finger and Jasper gave me a ring which I put on Edward's finger.

I was still in a haze when I realized that Edward was kissing me with all his passion as soon as we were pronounced husband and wife.

"Finally, you're mine for eternity, love." He whispered breathlessly after the kiss. "Now let's get out of here darling because I can't wait to begin my life with you." He kissed my forehead with a reverence that was only meant for deities.

Jasper came over to congratulate, hugging us both. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Masen, may you guys find all the happiness in the world together." Jasper said sincerely with warmth in his voice and I almost said Amen….Almost...

"Congratulations Mr. Edward and Bella." Tanya hugged only me and then went to stand by Jasper.

Edward put his arm around my waist and walked us out of the church towards the car.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Masen." Seth said happily and hugged Edward as he opened the car door for me. The bodyguard dude was already in the front seat. We got into the car and Seth started to drive towards Edward's house. Once we were settled in the car, Edward got his arms around me and got awfully close for my comfort.

I tried to slide away but he tightened his hold on me. Edward was ecstatic. He kept giggling like a retard and was so giddy that it was making me nauseous. He kept kissing my neck with boyish sweetness.

I was thinking of devious ways to incapacitate Eduardo for our wedding night when Edward's cell phone started to ring.

"Hello." Edward sang into the phone. "Oh, hi Rose. Ok let me put Bella on." Edward must have forgotten to check the caller id because he suddenly looked annoyed right now. He turned on the speaker and brought the phone near me.

"Hello." I said hesitantly not knowing what my reaction would be on hearing Rose's voice.

"Bella, we have something important to show you. Please come home right away." Rose said cryptically and hung up.

"What was that?" I said in sudden alarm.

Edward pressed me into his side stroking my arm. "I m sure it's nothing Bella, but just to be sure, we'll go over to your place right now." he said soothingly and I nodded. Suddenly I remembered that I was in a wedding gown for fuck's sake.

"Edward, I have to change first." I looked at him hopefully.

Edward didn't say anything. When Seth pulled over the house Edward helped me down the car and carried me into the house. He put me on my feet once we were in the foyer.

"Go upstairs and change. I'll be waiting here because God knows I don't plan to come out for days once we are alone in our bedroom." Edward said huskily and I silently thanked Rose for calling me when she did.

I ran upstairs to the bedroom and closed the door behind me. I unfastened all the buttons and stuff on my dress as fast as I can manage letting the dress slip off my body and stepped out of the satiny heap on the floor. After putting on the jeans and t-shirt ensemble Alice had packed me days ago, I hurried downstairs and found Edward waiting there in jeans and t-shirt. I smiled and he chuckled.

"Let's go Mrs. Masen. I want to get this over with fast so we can come back soon and then we'll have the wedding night you promised me." Edward gathered me into his open arms and growled playfully and didn't notice me flinching.

"Edward, I want to ask you for a favor." I was downright terrified of his reaction to what I was going to ask him now. "I don't want to tell anyone about the wedding right away, please for my sakes, would you promise to keep our marriage secret for a little while. I'll tell everyone soon enough." I asked pleadingly.

"Offcourse love, I did promise to give you anything you wanted and now that you are my wife, your every wish is going to be fulfilled." Edward took my hand and kissed my knuckles and his eyes smoldered. He looked like he wanted to devour me right there in the foyer.

"Thank you." I said to him and moved hastily to the door. We went outside back into the car and Edward asked Seth to take us to my home.

The drive to my home seemed to be taking forever and I let Edward hold me in his arms all the way. To say that the whole situation was unnerving would be an understatement of the century.

After a torturous 30 min drive we were now parked in front of my soon to be ex-home. Edward asked Seth to wait and instructed the bodyguard to stay near my house. I wanted to ask him about the bodyguard but I had other more important matters at hands right now.

"Edward, you should take off the ring." I whispered to him and slid off my ring and took off my necklace to place my wedding ring with my engagement ring on it. Edward didn't say anything but took off his ring and dropped it in his pocket all the while scoffing faintly.

We got out the car and walked to the front door. Edward rang the bell and I waited holding my breath. Alice opened the door and quietly ushered us inside into a dimly lit house.

"Alice, you're freaking me out, tell me what's wrong." I murmured to my friend. She walked to the living room gesturing to us to follow. I walked in still holding hands with Edward.

As soon as we stepped into the living room, all the lights turned on.

"SURPRISE!!" Five people yelled scaring the day lights out of me. Emmett jumped up from behind the couch with Rose and Alice started laughing at my horror stricken expression. Then two people came forward and hugged me with Edward still attached to my hand.

"Mom, Dad….I can't believe you guys are here." I squeaked between tears and heard Edward cursing under his breath.

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**Hmm...In next chap we'll see a lot of Charlie and Renee. The Charlie in my story is going to be a strong character. I could never stomach the Charlie we have in other stories where he'd be oblivion to everything around him....i mean the guy is the chief of police for God's sake....**

**Anyhooo.....Please Review....it makes my day.... :)**


	10. Rules and Fire Marshal

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing my story. Sorry for the late update and as a penalty, i'll be posting 2 chapters today. I still don't have a beta, so if anybody is interested, please pm me. I apologize in advance for any mistakes. **

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"SURPRISE!!" Five people yelled scaring the day lights out of me. Emmett jumped up from behind the couch with Rose and Alice started laughing at my horror stricken expression. Then two people came over and hugged me with Edward still attached to my hand.

"Mom, Dad….I can't believe you guys are here." I squeaked between tears and heard Edward cursing under his breath.

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**Chapter 10**

"Offcourse we're here sweetie" My father chuckled as my mom let go of me and he held me tight against his chest. For the first time in days, I felt safe standing there in my father's embrace…..It felt like nothing bad was going to happen now. I had freed my hand from Edward's deathly grip, who was now standing still like a stealthy lion waiting for the herd of deer to disperse so he could pounce on his intended prey.

Everyone stood with grins plastered on their faces. Charlie had let go of me and was now giving me an over all look as if checking for damages.

Alice and Rose came and hugged me and Edward. Renee was eyeing Edward with her famous 'mommy X-ray vision'. I could see her picturing 2 brown haired little boys with piercing green eyes running around me and Edward with water guns in their hands.

"Did you see her face?" Alice asked Rose still laughing a little.

"Yeah, she looked like a Chinese death mask….I think it took 5 years off of her life." Rose snickered I stepped forward and punched her lightly on her arm and Emmett guffawed.

"God, you guys know how much I hate surprises….. I hate you all for scaring me." I whined.

"Belly you love me!" Emmett swiped me into his bone crushing hug. "Thank God you weren't hurt much." He said softly after releasing me.

Emmett then gave Edward a one armed hug. "Hey man, thanks for taking care of Bella after the accident." I frowned, realizing that my parents must know about the accident.

"Bella, is it true that you asked everyone not to tell us about your accident." Charlie asked me in his no-nonsense chief's voice. Alice, Rosalie and Emmett all started to mumble some shitty excuses and retreated towards the kitchen leaving me alone to face Charlie in his 'tough cop' mode._ Traitors!_

"I m sorry dad, but since I just had a minor injury, I didn't feel the need to upset you and mom over it." I replied sheepishly. Even at 24, I still felt like a little girl in front of my dad. Edward stayed mute in the back ground. Renee was now openly staring at Edward.

"Young lady, you do remember the promise you made to me when you left for college?" Charlie's authoritive voice usually reduced me to a stuttering child. "You promised that you'll tell me if you ever get hurt, by anyone or anything. You've lied to me, although by omission but it's still a lie." He frowned.

"Yes dad, I remember my promise and I apologize for not telling you. You have my word that in future I'll not try to hide anything from you." I said crossing my fingers mentally.

For a few moments the living room got awkwardly quiet.

"Sweetheart, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend here?" Renee finally came to my rescue and voiced her curiosity.

"Umm…. mom, dad, this is Edward…we've been going out." As usual my voice had betrayed me in front of my father. I was never good at lying to begin with, but Charlie was a freaking human lie detector.

Charlie gave Edward a long hard stare.

"Hello Chief Swan, I m Edward Masen, I m Bella's … err boyfriend." Edward introduced himself politely and offered his hand to my dad.

Charlie cocked his head to one side and appraised Edward from head to toe taking his hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Charlie replied tersely. Edward looked annoyed and I grinned a bit. _Your turn to squirm Assward._

"I m Bella's mom." Renee came forward and shook hands with Edward then gave me a playful glare. "She didn't tell me about you two going out."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Swan. I can see now where Bella gets her lovely looks." Edward gave Renee a charming smile and she blushed.

"You can call me Renee _dear_. Emmett told us about you and I m grateful that you helped him out in his time of need" She said in a motherly tone and I could see that Edward had won over my mom.

"Please Renee, it was nothing. Emmett is an outstanding businessman and I invested in his company because I saw the potential he had." Edward replied sincerely.

"So, where were you kids... the whole day?" Charlie skipped the civilities all together and directly got to the interrogation.

"We went to my parent's home for lunch." Edward replied before I could say anything. I could sense from his voice that he wasn't comfortable with Charlie.

"Why don't we all sit down, Alice told me that she's ordered Chinese." Renee offered, sensing the same thing.

We all moved towards the couches and Charlie sat on the big couch with Renee while Edward took me by my elbow to the love seat and sat extremely close to me earning a frown from my dad.

"So what do you do Edward?" Charlie continued his Spanish inquisition once we were seated.

"I m the CEO of Masen industries, it belongs to my family." Edward replied with an air of confidence.

"What about your parents? Do they live here in New York?"

"Yes they live here. My mother is Almanian Diplomat and my father is retired but oversees our family business." Edward took my hand in his and started to trail his fingers on my palm. I could sense that he was drawing comfort from the action.

"Almanian Diplomat, umm, is it a country in Europe?" Charlie asked with genuine interest although I was sure that geography was never his strong forte.

"Yes Sir, it is. In eastern Europe actually, near Cordinia."

"So how do you like America so far?" Renee joined in the conversation and asked Edward.

"Actually, my dad is American, I was raised here. But I also love Almania as my own country." Edward replied.

"So, what is it like having two homes?" Renee asked smiling at Edward.

"I feel blessed. I get to experience very diverse cultures as both countries are extremely different when it comes to cultural norms. Almanians have a very rich heritage which has stayed the same for centuries." Edward smiled as I unsuccessfully tried to untangle my hand from his clutch.

"So, you're saying Almania is orthodox." Charlie said with a tinge of sarcasm and Edward frowned. Renee gave a piercing look to Charlie probably warning him to behave.

"Almania has some very old traditions dating back to 16th century which appear to be orthodox or perhaps strange to the outsiders but that's what defines our great nation. We take immense pride in doing what our ancestors have practiced for centuries." Edward's voice hardened in the end and before he could divulge more on the fine Almanian culture, I decided to intervene.

"Mom, Dad, how long are you guys here for?" I looked hopefully at Renee silently begging her to change the topic.

"We'll leave tomorrow afternoon. We just came to check on you kids then we'll go to Seattle for a week to your aunt Jennie's house." Renee replied. After that everyone got quiet and Edward's grip got tighter on my hand and I tried not to wince.

After what seemed like ages, the door bell rang and Alice yelled "Dinner is here" as I heard her running to the door.

"Edward you'll stay for dinner right?" Renee asked Edward politely.

"If you want, but I don't want to impose." Edward looked uneasy on Renee's invitation. "Besides, Bella and I had plans for the weekend. We might be leaving soon for my house." He subtly gave me the all too familiar glare asking me to go along.

"Nonsense! We are here to see Bella. You guys can go out next weekend." Charlie sat a bit straighter and gave me a pointed look. "Right Bella?"

I felt Edward tensing up. "Umm. Dad actually…" I was stuttering again but thank god Renee cut me off.

"Good Lord Charlie, stop playing the tough cop in the house. How many times do I have to tell you that you should butt out from our children's personal lives?" She said scoffing at Charlie who sagged a bit mumbling something about 'dominative woman'.

Then she faced me. "Bella your dad is right; however we don't want to ruin your weekend so why don't you invite Edward to stay here instead of going over to his place?"

"Okay, we'll stay here." The words were out of my mouth before my brain could register it. I m pretty sure I heard Edward growl under his breath.

"Great! So it's settled you guys will stay here." Renee chirped happily and Edward turned towards me but I kept looking straight.

Emmett just walked in with Alice and Rose in tow.

"Dinner is served ladies and gentlemen." Alice announced and we all marched to the dining table. Charlie sat at the head of the table with Emmett one side. Edward pulled out chairs for me and Renee and I could see that she was impressed by him. I sat next to Renee as Edward placed himself beside me. Alice sat beside Rose who took the seat next to Emmett.

When we were all seated Renee told everyone that Edward and I were staying.

"Oh that'll be awesome! It'll be a very fun sleepover." Alice bubbled with enthusiasm. Edward led out a sigh and Charlie rolled his eyes. "We can play a lot of games….ooohh!!! How about truth and dare?"

"Alice need I remind you what happened the last time we played truth and dare? And the time before it????" Rose teased Alice in a chiding tone. "Both times poor Bella found herself in a bit of a situation."

All three of those idiots snickered.

"What kind of situation?" Edward asked with a puzzled frown.

"It was actually a bit embarrassing." Rose admitted sheepishly stabbing her vegetables with a fork. "But since you'll be hanging out with us a lot, you have a right to know." Edward frowned slightly.

"Oooohh…! Please let me tell Rose." Alice bounced on her seat and Rose waved her hand at her gesturing her to continue.

Alice then smiled evilly. "Okay…so here is what happened, last summer we were all at forks and Renee and Charlie were gone for the weekend." Renee smiled and Charlie grimaced definitely recalling that night. Edward placed his hand on my knee beneath the table.

Emmett who had finally caught on now started to giggle. Alice threw a chunk of food at him and continued. "So, I suggested that we have a party at Bella's house. She obviously refused since that it was against the 'rules'" Alice air quoted 'rules' and Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Anyhow Rose and I bullied Bella into throwing a party and around 100 people came. We were drunk and someone started a round of truth and dare….long story short, Charlie and Renee decided to come back early only to find Bella and Rose in a compromising position."

"How compromising?" Edward asked in a playful tone narrowing his eyes. Rose was blushing furiously and I was sure I looked scarlet. Renee was happily listening to Alice and Charlie was suddenly paying a lot of attention to his egg rolls. Emmett looked like he was going to fall out of the chair laughing.

"Well the dare was to make out topless and with tongues." Alice finished and Edward dropped his fork with a clank on the plate.

"Oh my God, I wish I had come to forks that weekend." Emmett said wiping tears from his eyes and Rose elbowed him. Everybody was laughing except Charlie and I groaned mortified.

"Alice I thought you all took an oath to never mention this to anyone. Charlie looks like he is about to stab himself with that chop stick" Renee spoke through her fits of laughter.

"Oh but Edward needs to know that Bella also has a wild side, if an obscene amount of tequila is involved." Alice protested and Renee just shook her head.

"You kissed a girl?" Edward leaned really close to me and whispered in my ears. "That is so hot, darling." His breath felt like molten honey in my ears and suddenly a tingling wave of heat washed over my body and I became hyper aware of Edward's hand on my thigh.

"Bella, you didn't tell us how did you and Edward meet?" Renee asked taking a bite of her rice.

Both Edward and I were startled by the question. "We met at Bella's law firm. I was there to discuss a case." Edward replied calmly.

"What kind of case?" Charlie looked up from his bowl of noodles. I stiffened and I saw that Rose and Alice also got a bit tensed.

Before Edward could tell him about the sexual harassment suit I jumped in. "Dad, you do know that we're not at liberty to discuss the case with anyone. It's unethical."

"So is dating a client." Charlie retorted.

"I was not Bella's client, my case was handled by Carlisle Cullen, and Bella was his associate on the case." Edward replied with acid in his tone. "I'd never do anything to disgrace Bella at her work place."

"Mom and dad, where are you going to stay tonight?" Emmett decided to rescue us all from the awkwardness that followed.

Charlie remained quiet playing with his food again. "We made reservations at the Lincoln Lodge." Renee replied.

"Why don't you guys sleep here instead of going to a hotel?" Emmett said as he popped a big chunk of roll in his mouth.

"We would but there won't be enough room." Renee said looking at Charlie.

"We can make room." Rose Said to Renee and looked at everyone questioningly.

"Umm, you guys can take my room; I could bunk on the couch." Alice offered happily. "You can't say no now. Please say you guys will stay, I've missed you guys too much." Alice looked at Renee with her 'puppy eyes'.

"Ally, you know we can't say no when you look at us with those eyes." Renee said with a watery smile. My parents were very close to Alice and after her parent's death that closeness had grown deeper. Alice regarded Charlie and Renee as own parents. "Charlie, we should stay here with the girls tonight. But Alice dear, we can't take your room."

"Well, fret not mommy dearest, I've come up with an ingenious sleeping arrangement." Emmett started in his ridiculous 'Count dracula voice'. "I could sleep in Rose's room and Alice will bunk with Bella so you guys could sleep in Alice's room and Edward would take the couch." Then he winked at Edward who looked ready to rip him a new one.

"Does mom and dad know that you and Rose are going out now?" I decided to tell on him because they told dad about my accident.

"Offcourse Bella, I do not keep my social life a secret." Emmett reached over and ruffled my hair.

"Then how'll you sleep in Rose's room." I retorted and all the 3 women beside me started to chuckle.

"He won't but he gave it a shot anyway. Good try son but you and Edward will be sleeping on the couch. And Alice could sleep with Rose or Bella." Charlie looked amused but his tone was decisive.

"Why the fuck would I sleep on the couch instead of your room?" Edward hissed in my ear and I almost dropped my forkful of chow mien.

"I'll explain later." I whispered back and started to think about our dad's 'rules'.

Charlie was a very loving father but that did not change the fact that both Emmett and I lived in his house with strict set of rules. I remembered the swan residence's '**thou shalt not'** list posted in my bedroom. Although Emmett posted that list in my room as a joke, it wasn't far from the truth. I smiled as I remembered some of the rules. 'You shall not date before 16, not date some one with tattoos or piercing or a criminal record.' While some rules were just a tad bit away from the point of absurdity, we were still expected to follow them. But the most important rule was that we will never sleep with our boy/girlfriend with our parents under the same roof unless we were married to them.

Emmett saw the confused and frustrated look on Edward's face and decided to give him a tutorial on our family values.

"Edward looks a bit baffled with dad's announcement. Well, let me explain." He put his fork down and took a long sip of water and cleared his throat like an old college professor.

"Bella and I had rules while we were growing up. Although some rules like 'you can not make doodoo on the living room rug' are not applicable anymore, other rules are still in effect. One such horrendous rule is that we can't sleep with our girlfriend or boyfriend in the same room if mom and dad are in the house." Emmett paused and held his index finger in the air gesturing for a dramatic pause and took another sip of water. "Unless we're **married** to them." he finished with an exaggerated emphasis on the word married.

"Oh god I remember the rules, God Bella you were such a dork in high school." Rose chimed in and high fived Alice and I groaned loudly.

"Bella can I see you the kitchen please." Edward said to me in a very polite voice and excused himself from the table.

I got up avoiding all the curious glances thrown my way and with a heavy heart I excused myself and walked after him to the kitchen. Once I was in the kitchen Edward pushed me towards the counter and put both his hands on either sides of me trapping me.

"You've got to be kidding me." Edward hissed. "I m not going to spend my wedding night under daddy patrol."

"Edward, I m really sorry, I didn't know they would come. I can't say no to my dad, please try to understand." _Please, please stay here, I can't let you deflower me… you insufferable asshole! _

"No"

"No?"

"NO fucking way!" He hissed again and turned a bit purple with fury. "We're leaving, right fucking now. Bella you're my wife for heaven's sake and you're letting your old man bully you into depriving us both from our first time together." he looked like he was going to throttle me. _Must not shudder!_

"Edward, you can't make me. My dad is in the next room, please think rationally."

He bent his head down and took long breathes. "Okay, I m calm." He said it more to himself than me. "I'll sneak in your room after everyone has slept; make sure Alice sleeps with Rose."

"I can't guarantee that, Alice hates sleeping with Rose claiming that she gropes in her sleep."

"Then let's get out of here." He held my forearm and shook it a bit as if to knock some sense into me.

"I can't, you heard them, they're here to see me!" I put my hands on his cheeks so he could calm down a noch. "Please, for me? I want to be with my parents."

"Okay." He replied calmly but there was a sly edge to his tone.

"Okay?"

"Yes, you want to be with your parents. I'll not deny you anything. I'll make sure we spend the night in the same house." With that he turned and stalked out of the kitchen leaving me alone to ponder on his weird reply.

I shook my head and walked back to the dining room only to find Edward missing.

Charlie was peeking at me with concern and everyone else was just eating.

"What happened?" Alice asked apprehensively when I sat back and started to munch on my salad.

"Oh nothing, Edward just wanted to change our plans for the weekend." I replied.

Few moments later Edward walked back into the dining room and settled back beside me. "Sorry honey I just had to make a call." _Honey? _

Charlie scoffed at Edward's use of a husbandly term of endearment for me. The rest of dinner was passed in a casual banter and after finishing we all retired to the living room.

"I'll go and get some coffee for us all. Emmett would you come and give me a hand in the kitchen." Rose stood up and asked Emmett in her 'come hither' voice. I rolled my eyes. Those two idiots couldn't be more obvious.

The doorbell rang and I got up with Alice following me to go see who it was. I opened the door to see a man in fire man's uniform.

"Hi I m fire marshal Tyler Crowley." He introduced himself. Only then my eyes spotted a big red fire engine across our front yard.

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**I hope i didn't disappoint, next chap would be lemony!!... Love you all...please review!!**


	11. Virgins and Candy

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thanks everyone for all the yummylicious reviews and a special hug for MissGuidedAngel who always writes the most fabulous review that just makes up my day.....thanx girl...**

**As promised, this is the second chapter in one day.....**

**I'd have posted this chap earlier but i kept re-editing it coz writing lemon is something i m not very good at. It kept turning out like porn so i had to tone it down a bit to make it more 'tasteful'. Then when I managed to write it...I kept taking breaks for cold showers....coz my husband is virtually useless after a long day at work. Anyhooo......**

**I hope everybody likes it.... so read on and dun forget to review... :)**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

The doorbell rang and I got up with Alice following me to go see who it was. I opened the door to see a man in fire man's uniform.

"Hi, I m fire marshal Tyler Crowley." He introduced himself. Only then my eyes spotted a big red fire engine across our front yard.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Is there a problem officer?" I asked apprehensively.

"Yes ma'am, I m afraid there is." Officer Crowley paused to breathe then continued. "We got a call about smoke emerging from the cellar you share with your neighboring townhouse. When we got there, we saw that their heating system had malfunctioned catching on fire. Although it was very small fire, there was a lot of smoke because of the rubber insulation. We are still trying to find out why the malfunction happened in the first place. But since their electrical wiring system is very close to the gas line of your house, I suggest that you evacuate immediately so we could check it thoroughly before any other accident happens."

I couldn't hear anything next. I knew Edward was behind this shit.

He had to be! Nobody else could cook up a plan this crazy.

_Oh God I was getting paranoid, why would he start a fire near the bloody gas line, and he never left the house. Be logical Bella Drew…it has to be an accident._

Charlie, Renee and Edward joined us at the door probably wondering what was detaining us there. Charlie talked with the fire marshal and told us that we definitely had to leave the house as a precaution.

"What happened guys? What's all this commotion about?" Emmett and Rose also got there from the kitchen.

Charlie explained everything to them and told us all that we needed to move fast.

"We'll go to our hotel as intended and you guys should go to Emmett's house." Charlie said scratching his head.

"Well, I have a big house in the outskirts, why don't we all go there." Edward offered and then stepped towards Renee. "Renee, I insist that you all stay at my house instead of the hotel, it has 8 bedrooms so there's enough space for everyone. And I'll be pleased to have you guys over"

"That's very kind of you Edward." Renee replied elbowing Charlie who was still in his deep thinking mode.

"Do you have beer at su casa?" Emmett asked Edward who nodded. "Then we're on bro." he winked at Edward. Leave it to my brother to think about beer during a frightening situation.

"Okay, we'll stay at Edward's place. Now let's get out of here, the fire marshal is growing impatient. Our luggage is still in the foyer, we'll pick it all" Charlie ordered and we started to shuffle to the door. Edward had once again got my hand in his grip.

"Wait!!!" Alice hollered and we all looked back at her. "Give me 5 minutes please." She looked pleadingly at the fire marshal who nodded reluctantly.

Alice turned around on her heels and ran with full speed to her room. We all stood silently waiting for her as we heard her footsteps all over the place. She came back after 6 minutes with two travel bags.

"Ally, please tell me you also packed something for me too." Rose asked hugging her.

"Offcourse I did, and for Ballerina as well, thank me later ladies." She said smugly.

"Only you could think about clothes during an emergency evacuation." I tsk-tsked at Alice, who just flicked me a finger.

We were all out of the door in a few minutes. Edward and I went to his car. Charlie, Renee and Rose went with Emmett and Alice insisted on driving herself to Edward's place. Once we were in the car, Edward instructed Seth to drive slowly, so Emmett and Alice could follow him easily. Edward made a few calls but I didn't pay any attention to him.

"Did you have a pleasant evening with the In-laws, Boss?" Seth asked jokingly from the front seat.

"As pleasant as a root canal." Edward replied sarcastically. I knew he was referring to my dad giving him a cold shoulder but I refused to comment on it.

"Bella, I've called my housekeeper. She'll have everything in order for our stay." Edward said to me and I just nodded.

We were headed to his house now and that meant clearly that whatever he wanted to do to me, he'll do it now. To say I was fucked, was putting it mildly.

"I m sorry sweetheart, I know I told you that we won't live here after that 'Quil's incident' but we'll have to stay there tonight. The brownstone is not big enough to accommodate all our guests." Edward said lovingly all the while caressing my cheek.

Once we were at his old house, Edward got out of the car and gave Seth and the big dude some instructions then walked in the house with me. We waited in the foyer for others.

A tall dark haired woman clad in maid's uniform came into the foyer.

"Bella this is our house keeper Kate." Edward introduced her to me. "And Kate, this is my wife Isabella, but you are to address her as Ms. Swan for now." Kate looked confused but nodded anyway.

Soon Mom, dad and the rest of the gang joined us. Edward took them all on a brief tour of the house.

Everybody looked at the huge house in awe. Alice and Rose oohh-ed and aah-ed at all the right places. Renee looked so impressed that I was certain that she had mentally picked out a church and china patterns for our wedding. _If only she knew…._

Edward was being a very gracious host and showed them all the rooms where they'd sleep for the night and instructed Kate to see to it if anyone needed anything.

"It's almost midnight, I think we should all go to bed now." Renee said stifling a yawn.

Everybody turned to their assigned rooms murmuring good nights. Alice tossed me and Rose each a bundle of clothes.

Edward had placed me in his old bedroom. He left me at the bedroom's door and turned around. "I'll be in the next room Bella, if you need anything just press 'study' on the intercom." He said loudly, I knew it was for Charlie's benefit who was currently walking down the hall to his room.

I went inside and closed the door. Now that I was alone in the bedroom, I was a bit relieved. I locked the door, so any plan Edward had of entering the room would be thwarted. I took the bundle of clothes Alice had tossed me and headed to the bathroom to change. I splashed my face with cold water and took a moment to take in the craziest day of my life.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I expected to look different, now that I was married but I looked the same. I took my t-shirt off and the sparkling rings caught my sight.

I hadn't even seen my 'wedding' ring properly. I took off my chain and studied it under the light. It was a diamond encrusted band and looked antique. It was a lovely ring. I heard a faint rustle from the room and after placing my rings on the counter top I slowly padded towards the room.

"It took you long enough Mrs. Masen." I gasped on hearing Edward's voice and my hand flew to my throat. He was perched on the bed stretching like a jungle cat, clad only in his boxers.

"How did you get in here?" I looked at the door which did not appear to be knocked down. "I m sure I locked the door."

"That you did my dear wife." He looked amused. "But did you really think something as insignificant as a door would keep me away from you? But to answer your question, there's a door in the closet which connects this room with the study" He got up from the bed and started towards me. My feet moved on their own and I quickly turned around and ran towards the opposite end of the room putting his colossal desk between us.

"I suggest you don't run away from me sweetheart. I do not like being denied something I want." He said arching his brow. "You do realize that you can't outrun me."

"I – I m not ready." I said weakly.

"Offcourse you are, your shirt is already off, you have a sexy little lingerie on. I say that you lose your jeans and we'll be good to go." He smirked and I swallowed hard.

"Edward, my parents are down the hall, they might hear us."

"These walls are sound proof."

"You can't force yourself on me."

"I don't plan to, I'll seduce you."

"I thought you were a virgin, how do you plan on achieving that?" I challenged him.

"Well, I got myself a little tutorial in the afternoon before our wedding." He admitted wryly. When I raised my brows in question he continued. "I hired a call girl who came in and explained how to arouse and sate a woman. I assure you I didn't touch her and Jasper was with me all the time." _He hired a prostitute so he could seduce me?????_

"You mean a prostitute?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Candy.." He drawled. "preffered the term call girl, and she was an excellent teacher." He explained. "Now, would you please come to bed with me?"

"Edward, I'll not sleep with you in my right mind, so I suggest you back down." I howled in frustration and turned towards the door only to find the key missing. Edward paced towards me but I quickly scurried away from him back to the desk.

"Come on Bella, think of what Edward Jr. would say when I tell him that I had to chase his mom all over the room just so that he could be conceived."

"No conception is going to take place tonight." I spat with acid in my tone.

"You're wrong my love. With 27 years of repressed sexual charge, I'll get you pregnant in first 15 seconds." His eyes glinted mischievously.

"AAhh… you're an incorrigible asshole." I shouted wishing he'll get angry enough to forget about his lewd intentions.

"That... I m, love. Now stay where you are, I m coming to get you." He started to circle the desk towards me but I kept moving along to keep away from him.

"This is actually getting annoying." He sighed exasperatedly and then suddenly jumped on the desk. I let out a shriek and ran away from him.

I didn't get far. He got hold of my arm and whirled me around then holding me by my waist, he tossed me on his shoulder.

"Gotcha!" he chuckled darkly.

"Edward put me down, stop being an ass." I tried to punch his back but didn't get the desired results, he just kept laughing.

He crossed the room in three strides and tossed me on the bed and quickly got on top of me pinning my body under him.

"I believe you promised me something for our wedding night Mrs. Masen." He whispered in my ear and I thrashed around but it only made him push me down harder.

"No!! I agreed to marry you, not to this." I pushed his shoulders away but he clasped both my hand and then his left hand clamped like a manacle around both my wrists, pinning my hands to the head board.

"Tsk tsk come on Bella, surely you must know that I didn't marry you so that we could knit mufflers for the homeless together." He mocked me. "You know I've every right to this."

"Just fucking let me go." I shouted again.

"I love it when you're angry, it turns me on. And squirming so much isn't helping your cause either. It's actually feeling very erotic. Eduardo likes." He growled. _Eww._

His right hand slipped down between us and he started to unbutton my jeans. After unbuttoning it, he began to tug it down.

"Don't do this to me…… Edward!" I groaned.

"I like it when you moan my name like that." His tone was low and wicked.

My jeans were now around my knees, some how he had single handedly managed that feat. Then lifting one leg his pushed the jeans all the down to my ankles with his foot. After a few moments of tug and pull I was left only in my flimsy bra and the tiny underwear.

Edward arched his back a bit and looked me all over. His eyes glazed with lust and his pupils dilated. "Remind me to give Tanya a raise, love." Edward leaned and nipped my earlobe and I stifled a moan. "You look sinfully delectable."

He looked down at my barely there bra and his eyes grew darker. "Do you know I especially requested for a bra that had the clasp in front?"

"I hate you" I seethed feeling my resolve slipping bit by bit, going to hell.

"You won't be saying that in the morning love." He unhooked my bra and gazed down at my breasts. He ran his nose across them.

"Delicious." He whispered. His hand came up and cupped my breast rolling the nipple with his thumb and index finger.

I closed my eyes because the sensation that was overriding my senses was getting too much to bear.

"Yes darling, just give your self up and enjoy." Edward murmured and bent his head down latching his hot wet mouth on my nipple and started to suck and nip. "Mmmm…" He purred seductively.

"Unh, God…" I finally moaned out loud when he bit lightly on my sensitive tip.

"See, it is not that bad." He breathed with smoldering eyes.

Then he covered my body completely with his. Kissing my lips urgently, thrusting his tongue hungrily into my mouth.

At first I tried to shake my head but the his kisses were so drugging, I found myself on autopilot kissing him back passionately a few moments later.

His right had slid farther down my sides. I wasn't paying much attention to it until I heard a distinct tearing sound.

I went rigid as I realized that he had torn my panties. "Edward, I swear to God, I'll kill…." His mouth covered mine cutting my protests short.

I tensed up once again when I felt his hand inching down towards my now very wet core. He cupped my mound and gasped.

"You're bare down there." He said accusingly looking into my eyes.

"Yes, Alice made me….I'll kill her first thing in the morning."

"God bless brazil." He growled and slowly slipped his finger inside me.

I cried out with a gasp as a shock of pleasure flowed throughout my body. Then I started to wriggle from beneath him.

"Bella, calm down! I'm not going to hurt you." Edward said soothingly.

"Offcourse it'll hurt you moron." I tried to sound angry but it came out as a pathetic whine.

"I swear I'll be as gentle as possible." He promised and went back to his ministrations that were gradually but steadily pushing me into frenzy. When I got extremely close, he withdrew his finger from me. I almost whimpered in frustration.

He then let my wrists free but my arms felt sore. He quickly straddled my thighs and got on his knees lowering his boxers. I was going to take the opportunity to try and escape but he only lowered his boxers till his knees and captured my wrists again in their previous position, bound over my head.

He shimmied his boxers down and we were both very naked now.

"Okay….now we're ready. Let me remember what Candy said." Edward grinned and tapped his temple. "Oh yesss.."

With that he started to suck the sensitive patch beneath my ear and simultaneously his finger entered me. He had let go of my hands some time ago and I was running my hands through his wild hair. His thumb found my bundle of nerves and after 2-3 strokes I was writhing and moaning in delight.

He swiftly parted my legs before I came back from my high and settled between my legs. Eduardo was right where I wanted him. _Hello old friend… _

Edward was rubbing his erection along my very slick and sensitive folds.

"Bella, I'll do it in one quick stroke, you'll feel pain but it'll go away quickly." He panted and I shook my head.

"Hush.." He bent down and gave me a searing kiss. "Don't be afraid."

He shifted a bit and I felt his tip on my entrance. He kept his weight balanced on his elbows on my sides.

"Look at me." He whispered huskily and I did. With one swift stroke he entered me.

"It didn't hurt?" I asked him confusedly.

"Love, I m only on the threshold, I m not in yet." He laughed softly. "Okay, brace yourself."

With that he thrust forward and I let out a shriek. It felt awful, like something tore inside me…

"Breathe Bella." Edward cooed and started to stroke my hair with one hand. His length was stretching my narrow passage and i felt full and completely possesed by him.

"God, it hurts like a mother fu…." He silenced me with another one of his therapeutic kisses. He kept kissing me for a long time and the searing pain downstairs started to fade.

"Jesus, you're so warm and wet and tight." He whispered hoarsely stroking me.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a strained voice.

"I think so." I replied dumbly.

"I'll start to move now, I can't hold it back any more." Before I could ask him to elaborate this more, he pulled out and plunged back with a growl.

He then started to thrust in and out with a rhythm. He kept on whispering sweet nothings to me all the while. I released a hopeless groan of want and gave up my last trace of restrain and my hips started to move in sync with his.

"Oh God, yes." he groaned.

We were both panting and slick with sweat. I sought out his mouth and pulled him down by his neck to kiss him fiercely.

I felt his hand inching towards my core once again and his thumb started to circle my clit. He picked up his paced and his strokes became deeper and harder.

"Come with me love........... I m so near." He moaned into my mouth.

He didn't have to tell me twice.

"Edward….." I moaned his name aloud and suddenly fell over the edge and started to see stars. He followed seconds later with a grunt and fell on top of me spent and sated.

After what seemed like hours, Edward pulled himself off of me and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you, for the most wonderful night of my existence." He said so reverently that my eyes brimmed with tears. "I'll love you till the end of time. Thank you for being mine."

He rearranged us so that my head was on his shoulders. He pulled the covers on us then turned off the lamps. He drew me near his chest and started to hum my lullaby and I drifted off to sleep.

I was asleep deeply enjoying an erotic dream when I felt something nudging my legs. My eyes fluttered open.

"Shhh….Relax love." I heard a deep velvety murmur in the dark as I felt something slick near my core. "I want you again." He stated simply and entered me swiftly and made love till we both screamed out each other's names.

After the second round we both fell into a blissful state of ecstasy tangled into each other.

This happened 3 more times during the night before sleep found us near dawn.

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**I know what you guys are thinking....**

**No....Bella is not in love with him...but mind numbing-orgasms make you un-lucid.... :P**

**She will come to her senses soon... **

**As usual...review...and tell me what you think of this chap....**

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	12. Hickeys and Engagements

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thanks everyone for your reviews....especially ****MissGuidedAngel.... :)...Your review left me laughing for a while...we married ladies do know what actually happens...So i m thinking that next time i'll put a warning labels for all single gals out there....you know to let them know that 4-5 times a day is only fiction....  
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**I finally have a beta... Saewod is an awesome...awesome beta who ****has done extensive editing to my draft...and she's the one responsible for strategically placed commas, correct spellings and missing sheets........LOL**

**I hope everyone likes it... Sorry for the late update....Summer break has become the bane of my existence...Now...Read on!!  
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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"Shhh….Relax love." I heard a deep velvety murmur in the dark as I felt something slick near my core.

"I want you again." He stated simply as he entered me swiftly and made love till we both screamed out each other's names.

After the second round we both fell into a blissful state of ecstasy tangled into each other.

This happened 3 more times during the night before sleep found us near dawn.

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**Chapter 12**

Bliss, warm fuzzy bliss, surrounded me as I woke up slowly to the room softly lit by golden morning light; a warm cocoon of soft cotton sheets caressing my body.

My back was pressed flush against a warm and sturdy chest, which belonged to my husband; yes, my demented, possessive, stalkerish, domineering mobster husband. All the fuzzy bliss went straight to hell. _God, when the fuck would I get a break???_

I groaned; remembering last night. I promised myself that I would not yield to the seduction of the devil incarnate, but being a 24 year old virgin did not fare well for me. I was supposed to evade him not let him jump me 4-5 times.

No doubt the sex was awesome, or maybe it wasn't; because I didn't have anything else to compare it with, but it felt fan-fucking-tastic.

I absentmindedly ran my fingers through my hair and something on my finger got stuck into my nest-like hair. Cursing, I gently tugged my hand free from my messy hair. I looked at my hand and saw two rings glittering on my ring finger.

"They look like they've always belonged there on your hand." As usual Edward had startled me.

"That wedding ring was my grandmother's. Granddad gave it to me on my 18th birthday." He paused and sighed at the memory. "It's actually been in my family for 3 generations." He whispered and then turned me around with my shoulders to face him.

"It's beautiful." I whispered back.

"Yes it is, but it pales in comparison to you." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it lightly.

"Good morning, WIFE." He said cheerfully.

"Good morning." I replied, blushing a bit remembering last night.

"I have drawn a warm bath for us. I was waiting for you to get up so we could bathe together." Edward looked at me hopefully.

I wasn't going to protest, I had already given him everything I had.

"Okay." I sighed.

"Okay?" He looked surprised, probably expecting me to put up a fight.

I nodded and he got up and gave me his hand. I pulled myself up taking his hand. As soon as I stood up vertigo hit my body and I swayed to the side.

"Easy, there." Edward snaked his hand around my waist and kept me upright. "Are you okay?" He asked me in sudden alarm.

"I m guessing Candy didn't mention this part?" I snapped at him. I was very sore, feeling uncomfortable and raw.

"I knew you'd feel pain the first time, but I had no idea that you would be like this in the morning." He admitted sheepishly.

I groaned and pulled the sheet off the bed to cover my utterly naked body.

Edward gasped sharply and I followed his gaze. There on the white sheets was a large, red stain merging into a lighter, clear watery stain.

"Jesus, did I hurt you Bella?" He gripped me tighter and asked anxiously.

"I was supposed to bleed Edward, why are acting so surprised?" I said sarcastically.

"I knew about the bleeding, but I expected it to be a drop or two, not a whole pint." He sounded guilty.

"I'm sorry for bleeding all over your precious sheets. Now I need to clean up, just help me get into the tub." I said dismissively.

"You know I don't give a damn about anything but you; stop being absurd." He said in a small voice.

I stifled an acidic retort. "I'm okay. Now; about that warm bath?" I was really in desperate need to feel some warmth down there to soothe my soreness.

Edward sighed and picked me up bridal style in his arms.

"You do realize that I m perfectly capable of walking." I snorted.

"Of course you are." He said going into the bathroom which was filled with steam from the bath. "I just like to take care of you." He smiled crookedly as he gingerly lowered me into the tub filled with warm water and slowly removing the sheet from my body.

When I was settled he turned to the counter and brought a bottle of bath salt with him. He scooped out some of it and mixed it in the bath water.

After putting the bath salt back he came back and got into the tub behind me, placing his legs on my sides.

Edward pulled me back into his chest and held me in his arms.

The bath salts were mildly fragrant. Soft and soothing wafts of lavender filled up the air. I could feel his heart beat and his warm breath on my neck.

"Are you feeling better?" He whispered.

"Hmm. I think so." The warm water felt great against my sore and tender flesh. I almost moaned with relief.

"Bella, how are you feeling, I mean, about us?" _What a dumb ass question._

When I didn't reply, he let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry for hurting you last night; even if it were unintentional." Straightening a bit, he placed his chin on my shoulder.

"I also apologize for losing control, but I've wanted you for so long that one more night away from you would have driven me crazy. But now I realize that we should have waited for you to recover before we did it the second time, or the third, or…" He trailed off suggestively. _Cocky jack ass._

I decided to ignore him. The fact is that he did lose control and now I was suffering the consequences.

"Did you sign the papers?" My question startled him out of his arrogant cocky rant.

"What papers?" He asked confused.

"The papers which state that you relinquish all your shares to my brother" I reminded him.

"I had signed them the morning before our wedding." His reply took me by surprise but it didn't alleviate the fear I felt for Emmett's life.

"Do you remember your promise that no harm would be done to my family, now that I m your wife?"

"Of course I do. They're also my family now and I'll never do anything to hurt them." He said with such conviction that I was tempted to believe him.

"You didn't answer my question." He started to scoop water on my shoulders. "How're you feeling about us?"

"What do you expect me to feel?" I tried to keep my anger in check. "We both know that I was not left much choice."

"You still haven't answered me." He prodded again.

"I'm not going to dignify that half-assed question with an answer." There you go; I can't go 10 minutes without blowing my gasket.

"Bella, you know I love you." His tone was chiding. "Although I don't expect you to fall head over heels for me, I do expect that you behave as a loving wife is supposed to." He paused. "Or I'll be forced to go back on my words." He said menacingly.

I was tired, sleep deprived and angry. But his latest threat pushed me off the edge. "Just so that we're clear, marrying you wasn't enough to secure the lives of my family and friends; as you said it would. I'm now required to love you and honor you like a 'little loving wife' or my family would be shot at point blank range and tossed in some ditch in God knows where? I mean, just so I'm clear on my 'punishment' if I disobey you." I recoiled with venom and I felt his grip getting tighter on my arms. _I'll definitely get bruises from his hands._

His breathing had gone shallow now and I could tell that he was fuming.

"What you profess as your love for me is just a twisted desire you have to dominate me and see me squirm under your thumb. I married you and slept with you, not out of love, but out of fear for my family; nothing has changed." My voice was shaking but was still harsh. If he hadn't been furious already, I'd just tipped the scales, but I couldn't think of that now, because he had abruptly pushed me away.

Then he twisted my body by my shoulders so now I was face to face with him. He pulled me closer by my waist until I was straddling him. All my resistance was reciprocated by more force on his part.

He closed his eyes briefly and sighed, apparently tamping down his temper.

He bent his face and rested his forehead on my shoulder. He didn't look up and just kept breathing loudly through his nose.

After calming himself, he looked up. "Don't try my patience. Don't provoke me or anger me on purpose." His icy glare was searing my body.

I was shivering with cool air brushing my wet skin. And Edward's murderous glare was adding an extra effect.

Seeing that I was scared witless, he fisted his hair.

"You can do or say anything you want, I don't want you to become some docile vegetable. You're an independent woman and that's the reason I fell in love with you." He let go of his hair and gripped me by my nape. "But resist me again and I'll make sure that not even their bodies are discovered after I m done with them."

I just stared at him wide eyed with my jaw locked. The water was getting cold and my legs had started to feel numb placed at an odd angle.

"I want to get out. If you're done bullying me, please let me up. I'm finished." I croaked out.

Edward leaned back and drew my face up with my chin. His green eyes were dark. "Believe me love, this isn't bullying. Bullies can't back up their threats. I can." His last two words were said with such intensity and hostility that I shivered again.

The bath had lasted a long time; until my fingers were pruned beyond recognition. After he had his say; Edward got out of the tub and after wrapping a towel around himself, he wrapped one around me.

We walked into the bedroom. "I'll go back to the other room to get changed." He said. "You should come down after changing. I have some things to discuss with Seth. I'll see you at breakfast table. Kate would have the breakfast ready." He bent down and kissed my forehead and walked to the wardrobe and disappeared through a door in the corner.

I turned and started to look for my clothes. Alice had brought me 2-3 articles of clothing. Two of them were quite objectionable and skimpy skirts so I opted for the less obscene pair of jeans and thanked God when I found my favorite t-shirt in the pile.

My t-shirt was half way across my head when I heard a faint knock on the door. Quickly tugging the shirt down I went to open the door.

"Good morning Mrs. … Miss Swan." Kate said merrily with a girl standing behind her.

"Good morning Kate." I replied.

"This is Leah. She's the cleaning lady here." She nodded to the girl. "She'll clean your room." The girl hurriedly walked into the bedroom.

"I'll go set the table for breakfast now." Kate said; politely excusing herself and turning to leave.

Walking back into the room I saw Leah stripping the sheets from the bed. She was a pretty girl with Native American features and long black sleek hair. She was dressed in a grey maid's uniform that looked drab on her. Her gasp startled me.

"What?" I asked her alarmed.

"There's blood on the sheets." She looked at me apprehensively.

"Umm; it's nothing, uh…I got married yesterday and…" I was embarrassed into stuttering mode and my cheeks were tinted crimson.

"Ohh…" She uttered as recognition dawned on her face. "I m sorry, I didn't realize." She looked down at her shoes. "I'm sorry Mrs. Masen. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"It's okay Leah" I said. "And you can call me Bella."

"Okay, Bella." She smiled. "I'll get back to it."

She turned around and started to smooth down a new sheet on the bed.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked her.

"I started last week." She replied as she continued making the bed.

The new bed sheet looked faded and I walked to the bed to have a closer look. When I lifted its corner, I saw that it was the wrong side up.

"Leah, you're putting the sheet with its good side facing down." I pointed out to her.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She hurriedly pulled the sheet off. "I'm new to this. Please don't say anything to Kate. I really need this job."

"I won't say anything to anyone." Her reaction caught me by surprise. "Both sides look almost the same; anyone could've mixed them up. Here, let me help you."

We both made the bed, talking all the while. Leah was a smart girl and was taking night classes at a community college to get her degree in political science. She was working to pay her living expenses as she attended college; she didn't have any family to help her financially.

After helping her, I fixed my hair and left for downstairs.

I was still feeling an odd discomfort near my pelvis, which got worse when I walked. I prayed that no one would notice it and carefully I started descending down the stairs. I noticed my hand on the railing and saw the shiny rings on my finger. Cursing quietly, I took them off and shoved them into my pocket.

As I walked into the living room I saw Alice and Rose with coffee mugs in their hands.

"Good morning Ladies." I took measured steps to a couch and plopped myself down.

"Finally! Someone is up besides us." Alice exclaimed happily. "Everybody's been sleeping like the dead here. I had to drag Rose out of her bed by her feet."

"I hate you Ally… I needed my sleep after spending the better half of my night in Emmett's room." Rose quipped.

"You were with Emmett? But why did you go back to your room?" Alice frowned at her and Rose only raised her brows. "Ah…You returned to your room because you didn't want your future Father-in-law catching you in the act. I mean if he did, it'd be the second time he's gotten to witness you getting frisky with a Swan."

Rose groaned out loud and I started to laugh with Alice then winced when I felt a bit of pain below.

"Bella, are you okay? You look like hell." Rose looked at me while sipping her coffee.

"Yeah, I m fine. I guess I didn't sleep much last night, being in a new bed and all." I replied meekly. "I just need coffee, and then I'll be good as new."

"Oh my God!" Alice suddenly stood up and walked up to me. She bent down and touched my neck near my left ear base. "Is that a…. hickey??"

Her question caught me off guard and my hand flew to the spot under scrutiny. Instead of answering her, my mind went back to last night when Edward was feverishly sucking me there and his fingers were filling me….my body writhing under him. Blood pooled into my cheeks and I mentally cursed Edward for marking me there for everyone to see.

"Let me see!" Rose leaped off her seat, placing her cup on the table, and joined Alice at her side.

"IT IS a hickey." Rose gave her verdict after poking my neck. "God! Bella, what are you... twelve??"

"It's nothing. Stop hovering." I swatted both their hands. "And I've never seen a twelve year old with a hickey!"

"Did you notice that she was walking funny?" Alice ignored me and asked Rose. They both turned their gazes on me and eyed me suspiciously.

"Why are you staring at me like this?" I asked innocently.

"Did you do it?" Rose interrogated with her arms crossed over her chest. "Did you finally do it??"

"Do what?" I teased.

"Sex!" Alice hissed towering over me.

"Tell us Bella. Did you have sex?" Rose narrowed her eyes at me.

"Hmm… Maybe." My lips curled into a coy smile and Alice led out a happy squeal and hugged me.

"About bloody time! Welcome to the club Bella!" Rose sounded like a proud mother. "I was beginning to think that you were frigid beyond repair."

"You thought I was frigid?" My question was ignored as Alice let me out of her hug and sat beside me. Rose sat on the other side.

"So, how was it?" Alice grinned and elbowed me.

"Don't hold back anything." Rose warned. "Tell us all the dirty details. How did you do it? Where and how many times…and was his performance up to par... etcetera."

"I m not going to tell you a damned thing" I was blushing. "You both know what happens."

"Uh-uh….no way you're getting out of this." Rose shook her head. "Tell us everything or I'll tell Charlie what happened last night just 2 doors down his room." Rose threatened me.

"You do know that you're a manipulative bitch." I told Rose who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Urgh, you guys are not going to let this go?" I covered my face with my hands and groaned.

"No." They both sang in unison.

"Okay… fine!" I started to play with the hem of my sleeve. "Last night, Edward came into my room and we were just making out, one thing led to another and we just did it."

"Did it hurt a lot? Was he gentle?" Rose squeezed my hand and it warmed my heart that she cared for me like a sister.

"It hurt only the first time. And he was amazing." I replied honestly. Edward had treated me tenderly with love every time he touched me, of course except for the tossing me on the bed part.

"What do you mean 'only' the first time, did you do it more than once?" Alice sounded curious.

"Yes. I think 4 times during the night, I don't remember. I was sleepy." My reply took them by surprise.

"What??" Rose almost shouted.

"Wow…Stallion…Giddy up cowgirl" Alice laughed.

"You both need to control your voices. I don't want mom and dad to find out." I looked around to see if anyone had heard us. My warning shut them up.

"Bella, they'll have one look at you and they'll know what you were up to last night." Alice informed me in a hushed voice.

"How?"

"Well, the first clue would be the juvenile hickey you're sporting on your neck." Rose said while poking my neck again. "It's the size of Canada."

"It's really dark. Edward seems quite umm… passionate." Alice grinned and turned to Rose. "And she also has the FFF."

"Nah, I'd say it's more of a TFF." Rose replied while studying my face.

"Although I'll regret asking this, but what's FFF and TFF?" I knew it would be something stupid but I still had to ask.

"FFF is freshly fucked face, while TFF is thoroughly fucked face." Alice enlightened me.

"Of course." I replied dryly.

"We need to do something to cover her hickey or Charlie will go into his Daddy cop mode and Renee's vacation will go to hell." Rose voiced her concern. "Although he'll definitely figure it all out because your face always gives you away but we'll still go ahead and try to save the day."

"I have some concealer in my bag." Alice announced waving her hand. "Let's go into the bedroom and fix Ballerina."

We all went into the room where Alice had slept last night and I quickly went to the mirror and checked if Alice and Rose were exaggerating but I found a purplish-red blotch on my skin. I vowed to knee Edward in the groin and sat on the bed with my mouth shut as Alice smeared concealer on my neck.

"It's almost invisible." Alice declared eying her handiwork closely.

"Yeah, I can hardly see it anymore." Rose observed it critically. "Good job Ally." Rose patted Alice's shoulder.

"Now you're ready to face your parents Bella." I laughed on Alice's conclusive tone.

"By the way, I forgot to ask but has anyone seen my cell phone and bag?" I suddenly remembered my worldly possessions that were with me during the accident.

"They're at home, I collected them when I dropped your car or what's left of it at the work shop." Rose said and started to brush my hair.

"Did you guys use um.. protection?" Alice asked while putting her cosmetics back into her bag.

"Are we back to talking about sex?" I asked feigning annoyance.

"Yes, so answer her." Rose pulled a lock of my hair.

"Ouch. Rose, you don't need to torture me. And no, we didn't use condoms or stuff. But I got that depo shot with you guys last month."

"Speaking of which, I think somebody owes me an apology." Alice said accusingly. "You didn't want the shot saying that you'll never need it. I literally had to gag and bound you to get it."

"Thank you Ally for never listening to me." I really was thankful. Even the very thought of carrying Edward's demonic seed made my skin crawl. Thank God for depo or I'd have to perform Vasectomy on Edward myself. _Hmm__, I wonder if there's a book called 'Vasectomy for Dummies'._

"Don't mention it." Alice smiled.

"All done." Rose said as she tweaked a curl on my shoulder. "I love your hair. If I were to roll that way, I'd totally do you, just to see your hair sprawled all over my pillow."

"I know." I smiled. "If you're done playing Bella barbie, I'd like to go and eat. I m starving." I was close to whining but my stomach was growling.

"Okay let's go get some food in you." Alice got up and headed for the door. Rose and I followed her.

As we walked back into the main living room, we saw Emmett on one couch and mom and dad on the other one.

"Good morning mom, Dad." I went and sat beside mom.

"Good morning sweetheart." Renee kissed my cheek.

"Morning kiddo, you look better." Charlie smiled at me.

"How're you feeling?" Renee asked me.

"I told you I m okay mom. Stop babying me." I hated it when people fussed over me.

"Yeah mom, Belly-boo is a big girl now." Emmett said smiling as Rose took her seat beside him.

I was smiling at Emmett when Edward walked in wearing a grey t-shirt and faded jeans.

He was looking all smug with a post coital glow on his face. His eyes lighted up as soon as he saw me and my heart did a little flip flop. His burning green gaze moved softly, possessively over me. I looked away quickly, willing my heart to slow down.

My eyes moved to Charlie who was staring at Edward. After a few moments his expressions changed. A faint scowl appeared on his face and he turned and gave me a strange look. I instantly shied away from his glance feeling guilty. Maybe he had figured it out. Maybe Alice and Rose were right and my last night's activities were too obvious.

"Hey Edward we were just talking about your house. It's amazing." Emmett said to him as he sat on the chair right across me.

Everyone nodded in agreement and Alice started to discuss her favorite parts of the house.

"Thank you." Edward smiled. "I bought it 3 months ago. When I started to think about settling down and having a family." He gave me a sly look.

"You must be planning for a big family because the house is monstrous." Alice said smiling. "Probably 6-7 kids." She gave me a mischievous smile.

"Well, I grew up all alone and I know for a fact that it's not fun. So, yes, I'd say maybe 5-6 kids." Edward smirked and for some unknown reason I started to blush.

Alice looked at me and snickered and I made a mental note to strangle her with my bare hands.

"Miss Swan, the breakfast is on the table." Kate came in and announced.

Everybody except Edward turned and gave me curious glances.

"Okay thanks." I replied dumbly and got up.

Of course, Kate thought that being Edward's wife, I'll be the one she'll report to. Edward stood up as and walked over to me and took my hand and started to pull me along him.

"You look tired." He whispered and smiled slyly.

"I'll be better." I mumbled and and tried to ignore all the butterflies in my tummy fluttering at high speed on his warm touch.

We all filed in and went into the dining room. Edward pulled out a chair for me and mom. I sat beside Edward with Alice on my right side. Renee and Charlie took chairs opposite to us and Rose sat next to Renee with Emmet on her left. After everyone was seated Kate started to pour coffee for everyone.

"Would there be anything else Miss Swan?" Kate asked me when she was finished pouring coffee.

"Um, I m okay." I looked at Edward. Silently begging him to remove the spotlight from me.

"That'd be all Kate." Edward finally dismissed her.

Everybody started to eat in silence.

"Oh, I remember, I called that fire marshal dude and he said that you guys can move right back. Apparently the circuit was okay but the main power cord was broken. They've fixed it." Emmett had as usual started to talk with his mouth full and was sputtering crumbs all over the place.

"Emmett don't talk with your mouth full." Renee admonished him.

"Renee don't bother. Emmett is an ogre." Rose said to Renee while glaring at Emmett who was now chewing with his mouth shut.

"Bella your grandmother misses you a lot. When will you come home to see her?" Charlie looked at me and picked up his coffee.

"I've just started a new job dad, I can't visit home now. Maybe on thanksgiving." I answered as I finished my second pancake and reached for a bagel. I was still famished.

"She's not well you know. It'll be a miracle if she lives to see thanksgiving." Charlie said sadly. "Her heart is getting weaker, the doctor said that she only has around 6 more months."

Grandma Swan was 78 years old and had a heart condition. I used to be very close to her and I felt that I ought to go visit her.

"I'll try and come sometime next month." I said and went back to my bagel.

"Jennie's daughter is getting married in November." Renee said wistfully giving me 'that' look which said that I should also get married and start popping out kids like my cousins.

"She didn't have any choice mom, she got knocked up." I retorted.

"That's not a very nice thing to say Isabella." Renee scolded me. "You all are invited and I expect you all to show up." She said and gave pointed looks to Alice and Rose.

"Don't worry Renee we'll definitely come. I'd love to see Jessica again." Alice assured her. Although I was sure she just wanted to trip Jessica on her foot while she was walking down the aisle.

"I'll try." I replied sourly.

"You will come! And I think you should bring Edward along." Renee insisted with a gleam in her eyes. I knew what that gleam meant. It was the 'thank God my daughter is no longer single' gleam.

"I don't know mom, November is far, maybe Edward would be busy." I said and looked at Edward praying he'd refuse.

"Nonsense. Edward, I'd really like it if you'd come to my niece's wedding." Renee ignored me and invited Edward.

"Ofcourse I'll come. I'd love to meet Bella's family." Edward replied politely and squeezed my knee below the table.

"Then it's settled. You'll all be there." Renee was close to squealing like Alice. "It'd also be a nice occasion to announce Emmett and Rose's engagement to the family." She said glaring momentarily at them.

Emmett suddenly choked on his pancake and started to cough. Rose started to pound his back with her fist.

"How did you know I asked her to marry me?" He said after his coughing fit subsided.

"We kept it a secret." He took Rose's hand who was blushing for maybe the 2nd time in her life.

"I m your mother. And I know everything." Renee smirked. "Plus I over heard you calling her 'my fiance' last night in the kitchen."

"Why you two conniving little…." Alice was furious to be left out of the secret.

"I m so happy for you guys." I interrupted Alice standing up and walked around the table to hug Rose.

"Congratulations man." Edward stood up and offered his hand across the table to shake Emmett's hand.

"Thank you. Wish me luck dude." Emmett shook his hand and laughed.

"I m happy for you son." Charlie smiled at Emmett.

"Mom I m sorry. We wanted to tell you guys soon but with Bella's accident, we thought we should wait." Emmett said to Renee who was now hugging Rose.

"It's okay. I m very happy that finally, one of my kids decided to make me happy." Renee smiled and wiped a happy tear from her eyes.

"I also have an announcement to make." Edward said suddenly. All the blood left my face and I moved back to his side and held on to the table in flat panic. _Oh no. He won't! _

Everyone turned their attention to Edward. His eyes met mine and I silently begged him not to say anything, but I only saw sheer determination in them.

"I've asked Bella to marry me." He paused and kept his gaze on me. "And she has said yes."

"What??" Charlie shouted.

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**As usual...review...and tell me what you think of this chap....**


	13. Edward's InLaws

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Thanks to all the people who have reviewed... Especial shout outs for MissGuidedAngel and Bennita........... And thanks to Saewod for editing my chap..**

**Read on guys and tell me if liked it.......**

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

"I also have an announcement to make." Edward said suddenly. All the blood left my face and I moved back to his side and held on to the table in flat panic. _Oh no. He won't!_

Everyone turned their attention to Edward. His eyes met mine and I silently begged him not to say anything, but I only saw sheer determination in them.

"I've asked Bella to marry me." He paused and kept his gaze on me. "And she has said yes."

"What??" Charlie shouted.

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**Chapter 13**

"Bella and I are** engaged**." Edward turned to Charlie and enunciated each word like he was talking to a toddler. Charlie just kept staring at us in silence.

For the next few moments, an awful silence invaded the dining room. There was a whole range of contradicting emotions on everyone's faces.

Alice and Emmett looked kind of happy; Renee looked like she was going to break into a 'hallelujah' choir, and Rose looked like…well just like how Rose looks whenever she gets unexpected news… Calculative…analytical.

And last but not least, Charlie looked… Appalled??

"Bella is it true?" Renee asked me barely containing her excitement. _God, I wanted to throttle my slutty cousin Jessica for resurrecting Renee's inner Mrs. Bennet._

"Yes mom." I finally found my voice and managed to hold back the bile that had risen up.

"It sounds very … impulsive for you two to take such a huge step so early into your relationship" Renee offered in a concerned tone.

"I' m in love with Bella." Edward declared sincerely and turned his piercing green gaze to me.

"From the very first moment I laid my eyes on her, my heart stopped belonging to me and I fell hopelessly in love with her." He paused and gave me a lope sided grin that did strange things to my heart.

"I never knew that I was even capable of feeling such an all consuming and soul searing emotion for someone. But when I realized that I do, I got down on one knee and asked her to be with me for the rest of my life." Edward's voice was filled with unspoken emotions and his emerald eyes were misty. "After her accident, I felt like I'll be lost without her, and I just couldn't bear to live another day without telling her how much she meant to me and that I wanted to spend every waking second of my life thanking God that he brought her to me." I suppressed the much anticipated snort after Edward's asstastic proclamation.

Alice 'Awe-ed' and Rose just rolled her eyes. Charlie was trying his best to appear calm but I could sense that he was working very hard not to gag. Emmett was just observing me silently. My mother was speechless; her eyes were all watery and it appeared as if she might faint any moment now.

Renee came over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Bella, every mother wishes for her daughter to be swept off her feet by a prince charming. But not every mother gets her wish like me. Edward is perfect for you. You have chosen well sweetheart. You both have my blessing." Then she hugged me.

"Bella, are you sure about this?" Emmett asked me softly. I nodded and he gave me a big smile. "In that case, I'm also happy for you baby sister."

"This is like a very surreal off screen version of Dharma and Greg. You know, minus the Hippies and mutts." Alice piped in thoughtfully. "Oh My God! So that was your _engagement_ ring?" Suddenly an animated bulb went off over her head and she looked like she'd finally solved the hardest sudoko in Sunday's paper.

"What ring?" Renee's curiosity leapt to astronomical proportions.

"We found a diamond ring on her, after the accident." Alice informed her giving me a hurt look.

As if on autopilot, my hand reached into the pocket fishing out the damned piece of jewelry under question. I closed my hand around it; holding it tightly in my fist.

"I' m sorry guys. I was going to tell you soon." I apologized looking at Rose and Alice.

"When would have been soon enough for you Bella? After the wedding?" Rose spat in an acerbated tone, unknowingly hitting the bull's eye.

I flinched guiltily on her accusation. Edward moved next to me and put an arm around my waist pulling me into him protectively.

"You're the one to talk Rose! It's like the pot calling the kettle black." Alice huffed at Rose.

Edward seemed oblivion to the drama around us as he took my hand in his, gently prying my fingers open. After retrieving the ring, he slipped it on my left hand's ring finger. He was now looking relieved and triumphant. _Asshole!_

"We were planning on telling everyone this weekend." Edward's announced in a calm voice.

"Now, I'd really appreciate if you'd all just stop badgering my fiancé. She's getting upset." Edward scoffed faintly and started to rub my back absent mindedly

Rose and Charlie just glared at Edward.

"Bella, It's not that I m not happy for you, I just don't understand that why would you hide something like this from me?" Alice's eyes started to brim with tears. "I m supposed to be a sister to both of you. But you guys didn't even tell me that you got engaged."

"Are you pregnant?" Charlie snapped all of a sudden and all the eyes in the room shifted to my flat tummy.

"What?" I was mortified that my dad could think so low of me that the only way I'd think about getting hitched would be after getting knocked up.

"No Dad. I' m definitely not pregnant. No. No. NO…" I shuddered and replied vehemently. Edward's hand tensed up on my back and his other arm tightened around me.

"Seriously Bella, one 'no' would have sufficed." Edward quipped dryly and I just ignored him.

"Then why??" Charlie demanded looking quite baffled. "Why are you getting married when you barely know him?"

"Bella, we'll all go into the living room. I think you and Dad need to talk." Emmett walked up to me and hugged me awkwardly as Edward didn't let me out of his hold.

Then he gave a one arm hug to Edward. "Welcome to the family bro."

"Thank you Emmett." Edward replied smiling.

"Bella, we need to talk." Rose said curtly and I nodded meekly.

Emmett walked out pulling an angry Rose behind him.

"Congratulations, you two." Alice squeaked all teary eyes and I pulled her into an assuring hug. "Ally, I love you and I' m sorry for keeping secrets from you." I choked out.

"I know." She smiled and then stood on her tip toes and kissed Edward's cheek.

"Welcome to the family." She said warmly.

"Thank you Alice. You know, you're my favorite sister in law." He winked at her making her laugh.

"Oh, I know!" She grinned and left the room.

Renee came up to us next. "You two make the most perfect couple." She beamed and kissed Edward on the cheek; who had the audacity to blush and gave her a hug in return.

"Thank you for your blessing Renee. Should I call you mom now?" He said jokingly.

"Only, if you want to." Renee smiled. She looked at Charlie and the sides of her lips fell.

"Charlie, I'll be in the living room. I suggest that you act like a sensible father, which I m sure you're capable to do from time to time and give your blessing to our soon to be son in law." After warning Charlie, Renee walked out.

"Edward, could you please leave us. I need to speak with Bella alone." Charlie sounded civil but his tone was harsh.

Edward's grip got awfully tighter around me and his fingers started to dig into my skin.

"Edward, I have to talk to my dad in private." I said pleadingly.

"Okay. I'll go." He said and bent his head to my shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid." He whispered in my ear and dropped a kiss on my shoulder.

After Edward left reluctantly, Charlie sank into a chair and buried his head in his hands.

"Dad?" It felt like I was back in 7th grade waiting to be questioned about setting all the frogs free from their impending demise in the biology lab. "Please say something."

"Bella, I have been a Police officer for almost 30 years." His head was still in his hands. "I' m very good at my job."

He didn't need to tell me that. Charlie had a wall of shelves full of trophies and shields. All testaments to the outstanding courage and dedication he had shown through out his career.

"I' m not going to beat around the bush." He looked up. "I don't think Edward's good enough for you."

"He seems like a well behaved young man but my instincts tell me that he's a controlling and selfish human being. I can read people way better than all of you and he makes my skin crawl." _Mine too dad… mine too!_

I was speechless on Charlie's accurate analysis.

"He hovers over you like he has some sort of exclusive claim on you. Although I know that some women find a little possessive streak in their significant others quite endearing; but it's the same possessiveness that drives men first to jealousy, then to violence later on in their relationships." He paused to gauge my reaction. "Now, I' m not saying that Edward is going to abuse you. In fact I' m not even sure what is it about him that ticks me off."

Charlie stood up and started to pace. Then he abruptly stopped. "He's not right for you. I can sense that there's something wrong with him but I just can't put my finger on it"

"Dad he loves me." I told him in a hollow voice.

"You've known him for how long? Just for a week, for Christ's sake! He's from some weird European country. You knew James for years before you got involved with him." I grimaced on his subtle reminder of my miserably wrong perception of James's leery intentions towards me.

Charlie looked at me with his brows knitted in confusion. "What is it about him that made you accept a marriage proposal, just days after you began dating him?"

"He loves me." I had started to sound like a broken record.

"Not even once have you said that _you_ love _him_." Charlie said in a challenging tone.

"I do." I uttered, inwardly disgusted.

"You're not good at lying Bella. Never were." He approached me carefully and put his hands my shoulders.

"Are you in any trouble?" He asked softly peering into my eyes.

"No dad. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"I don't know." He admitted and ran a hand through his hair.

"Is he blackmailing you with something into marrying him?" He demanded giving me a discerning scowl.

At that very moment I knew why Charlie was one of the best cops in Seattle before he transferred to Forks as the Chief of Police. He had drawn an accurate conclusion to my horror filled predicament in 24 hours only by observing us.

"Dad, why are you finding it hard to accept, that I said yes to him because I love him?" I knew I had to up my game. If Charlie went ballistic, there's no telling what Assward would do to us all.

"Because, I know my baby girl! You're not dumb enough to fall for a control freak."

Charlie drew in a long breath. "I've seen you two interact. You guys don't appear to be in a normal relationship. You look subdued around him and most of the time you seem to be contemplating your next move."

I looked away quickly before Charlie could detect guilt and humiliation in my eyes.

"And Edward tracks you around with his eyes. Don't you dare tell me that that's some love sick puppy thing he has going on. There's this predatory edge to his demeanor like…. like he's stalking some prey." Charlie turned around and fisted his hair.

"I know you're sleeping with him." He said in a low voice and I felt like being dunked into cold water.

"I realize that you're a grown woman who has _needs_." He had started to stammer slightly.

He turned back to face me and I groaned in protest to where this conversation was headed. "But you don't have to marry him just because you've slept with him. People have umm... casual relationships all the time."

"For God's sake dad!" I had turned crimson on Charlie's blunt comment. "Are you suggesting that I have casual sex with a guy and then dump him?"

Charlie thankfully had the decency to blush. "It's not uncommon now days with your generation."

"Dad, I' m not the type of girl who sleeps around." I huffed in annoyance.

"It'd be better than ending up with the wrong guy." He retorted.

"Daddy!" I grunted loudly.

The conversation had skidded out of control three sentences ago. I had to convince Charlie about my relationship with Edward for the sake of his own life.

"I know what I m doing. I don't need you to protect me anymore!" My voice had risen a few octaves, taking both me and my father by surprise. I had never raised my voice to him before and I saw him flinch slightly.

"I' m sorry dad. I didn't mean to yell at you." One look at of his face confirmed my worst fear that I had broken his heart. But I had to stay the course. "I' m in love with him and I know you have your concerns but I can't be swayed from my decision. _I' m marrying Edward._" I informed him decisively.

"Okay." He sounded defeated. "But I don't want you to rush into an early wedding. Have a long engagement, get to know him better."

"That, I can do." I lied.

"I'll do a background check on him as soon as I get back." Charlie mused loudly. _Oh Crap!_

"Dad!! Promise me you'll do no such thing." I protested loudly. God knows what dirt Charlie might dig up on the Masens and how far would they go for their self preservation.

Fear crept like arthritis through my bones and my mind started to go through possible scenarios, all with the same blood marred ending…..

"I'll never ever speak with you again if you did anything of that sort." I threatened him with grim determination.

"Bella, I'll do everything in my power to protect you, even if it's from your own stubbornness." Charlie said curtly.

"Dad, I'd really appreciate if you could stop interfering with my life." I knew I was being a bitch but I had to play one for my family's safety. I was hoping that I'd hurt him enough to make him leave the whole probing into Edward's life thing to rest.

"Bella, don't take up that tone with me!" Charlie's voice rose in anger.

"I should be leaving now." With that last sentence Charlie stormed out of the room.

I sank into the nearest chair and started to mull over the shit I was knee deep in. So far nothing had gone my way. In a week's time, I had gotten engaged, married, tossed on the bed 3-4 times, ravished beyond repair. _Jesus…._

"Bella. Are you okay?" I looked up to see Alice standing beside me.

"I have screwed up big time? Right? Dad hates me now." I bit my lip voicing my fears. "God, he must have been so disappointed in me."

"It'll be okay sweetie." She said soothingly.

Rose was right behind her. She came forward and squatted next to my chair.

"I m sorry I was being an ass before." Rose started to grumble, which a telling sign that she felt guilty over her earlier behavior. "I was angry because you never do anything without involving us." She put her hands on my knees.

"And then Edward tells us that you're engaged….taking the biggest plunge of your life without even breathing a word to us." Rose lifted her head and I saw the hurt etched on her expressions.

"I m really sorry, but how could I have said no to him?" I looked at both of them. "He loves me." I swallowed hard and continued. "And I want to be loved, cherished. I want to belong with some one. That's why I just took a leap of faith and… jumped." _I said yes to that demon's spawn, because I love you guys. _

"Oh, sweetie. Of course you deserve to be loved and cherished." Rosalie rose up to gather me into a hug. "I' m happy for you. Despite the fact that Edward gives me the creeps, I'll try to like him." She admitted with an exaggerated sigh.

"Now that's out of the way, how do we handle Charlie?" Alice broke up our hug reminding us about the Papa Bear fiasco from minutes ago.

"Let him growl all his bluster out." Rose suggested. "He'll come around, believe me. He's just jealous that he'll not be your favorite man anymore." She tried to cheer me up.

"What was he saying?" I asked them.

"He just stomped upstairs to get his bags." Alice informed me sadly. "Emmett's going to drop them off to the airport. Thank God Edward was not in the living room to see Charlie's reaction. His feelings would have hurt a lot." _Yeah right! Like, there's even an ounce of emotion in that black heart of his. _

"We're also leaving." Rose said as she patted my shoulder. "You deserve an uninterrupted weekend with that man-candy fiancé of yours."

"Now come on, let's go and face Charlie together." Rose pulled my arm. "Remember, Safety in numbers!" She winked and started to drag me out.

The scene in living room was not very comforting. Emmett was no where to be seen, neither was Edward. Charlie was sitting next to Renee, mumbling profanities. Renee was glaring at him and threatening to kick him in the balls.

"But she's only a little girl." Charlie protested.

"She's 24 years old, for God's sake. I was a mother of two at 24." Renee scoffed at Charlie.

"Ahem." Alice cleared her throat to announce our presence.

"Oh Bella, your dad will be okay, just ignore him." Renee got to her feet, leaving Charlie to brood by him self.

"Renee is right Bella." Rose nodded in agreement. "Remember the time we had to ignore him for whole of 6 weeks after he walked on our make out session." I grinned at the embarrassing memory and pulled my mother into embrace.

"I m sorry your vacation is ruined mom." I whispered for only Renee to hear.

"Nothing is ruined; your dad is just being his usual self." Renee said giving Charlie an insolent look.

"Dad, your bags are in the car." Emmett announced as he came inside.

"You guys are leaving now?" Alice asked Renee.

"Yes dear, our flight is in 3 hours." Renee responded as she started to go through her hand bag's contents. "Here's the invitation card for Jessica's wedding, as you can see you have a plus one." She handed me a white envelop.

"I expect Edward to come along with you." Renee insisted and I responded with deliberate shrug.

"Mom I have absolutely no idea of Edward's schedule." My reasoning was cut short as Edward strolled into the room.

"Renee, I'll definitely be there, you have my word." He promised sweetly and then turned to look at me and something flickered in his eyes.

Charlie just sat silently and the line of his mouth was set in an intractable line.

"Mom, are you ready?" Emmett asked Renee as he picked up her bag.

Renee nodded and turned to hug me and Edward. Charlie got up and walked silently towards me.

"I' m sorry dad." I squeaked as I hugged him.

"It's okay kiddo." His voice cracked.

I felt Edward's presence behind me and I slipped out of Charlie's arms and turned around to give Edward a big smile.

"Where were you?" I asked him as I leaned up to brush my lips against his.

"I was just outside the gate, had to talk with Seth." He wound his around my waist hauling me closer to him. If he was surprised by my new found passion, he concealed it well.

We all walked out to Emmett and Alice's cars in the drive way. I stayed glued to Edward's side and made sure I was constantly touching him for everyone to see.

As my family got into their cars leaving Edward and I standing on the side, I decided to add a little flare of romantic drama to my charade. As Emmett's and Alice's cars moved towards the gate, everyone turned around to wave at us. As everyone's eyes were on us, I decided to take advantage of the perfect timing and shoved Edward to the nearest wall.

"What the…" He was midway his growl when I grabbed him by his collar and covered his mouth with mine. At first he was stunned, but then he coiled his arms around me and thrust his tongue in my mouth.

When I was sure that the cars were outside the Iron Gate, I pushed Edward away and hurriedly walked back into the house.

"Bella?" Edward called as he ran after me.

He quickly caught up with me; stopping in front of me to block my path.

"So, I m guessing the whole wildcat routine was not for my amusement?" His mouth tilted in a mocking smile.

"No it wasn't. Nothing short of a human sacrifice could keep you amused." I replied with a blistering glare.

"I can see your sense of humor has helped you through this atrocity" His hand reached out and came to rest over my nape. "Now that we've started our foreplay, why don't we continue this lovers squabble upstairs, in the bedroom." His eyes darkened as he arched his brows suggestively.

"You're an unscrupulous, selfish bastard who uses people without conscience. And I hate you." I gave him a defiant glare and stomped off to upstairs. I could hear his musical laugh as I went straight to the bedroom and locked myself in the bathroom.

After taking the world's longest shower….ever, I put on an oversized bathrobe and tip toed back into the bedroom.

As expected, Edward was lying on the bed with one arm thrown up above his head, the other slack at his side.

After pulling in a tight little breath, I approached him. "I need to be alone for a while."

He stretched his arms upward and then linked his fingers behind his head, regarding me with a diabolical smile.

"Jasper is expecting us for dinner at his place." He said as if I hadn't spoken. "Be ready at 6. Or we could always cancel if there are other things you want us to do." he asked with hint of a wry smile.

Hmm. What do I say? Go over to Psycho number two's place or stay here alone with him…..

"I'll be ready." I replied as I plopped myself on the settee at the base of the bed. "Now, would you please, leave me alone?"

"Still not over your defiant streak Bella?" He gave me a flinty look.

I stayed silent, avoiding his heated gaze.

"I'll be downstairs. Don't take too long." He said as he got off the bed and walked to the door.

When he got to the threshold, he paused, glancing back to me. "Oh, and wear something blue. I've asked Tanya to stock your wardrobe, you'll find something there to my liking I'm sure."

After he left, I moved to the bed and got under the covers. Minutes ticked by, stretching to half an hour. I rolled over on my stomach and screamed into the pillow.

I felt tears prick at the backs of my eyes. Edward had crossed the final line when he pitted me against my own father.

I have to come up with a plan.

Suddenly I had an epiphany.

I got up and picked up the phone from the side table and started dialing. After 3 rings my call was answered.

"Hey Jake, can you come to our usual cafe tomorrow morning?" _Payback is going to be a bitch, Masen. _

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**AN....  
I know the chapter might appear boring to some of you but I had a specific goal when i was writing it. I wanted Bella to kind of hit the rock bottom of desperation. Charlie being hurt was the catalyst she needed to start her payback. I agree that Bella looked quite spineless through out the story, but things will change. She was scared shitless for her family's lives and having seen Edward's killing rage firsthand, she didn't want to provoke him....then after the accident, she was pushed into the marriage while she was still recovering from her drugged haze...Stick with me...and you'll love the things to come....**

**As usual review..**


	14. Band of Brothers and Rooftop Rendezvous

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**My sincerest apologies on being a lazy bum. And as a penalty, I've written the world's longest chapter. This is going to be a rare treat.....so enjoy it ladies....i won't be writing chaps this lengthy anytime sooner. Saewod barely survived editing this for me.....Hats off to her...  
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**So, here you go....Read on my lovelies... :) **

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**Previously on Waiting to Exhale,**

I felt tears prick at the backs of my eyes. Edward had crossed the final line when he pitted me against my own father.

I have to come up with a plan.

Suddenly I had an epiphany.

I got up and picked up the phone from the side table and started dialing. After 3 rings my call was answered.

"Hey Jake, can you come to our usual cafe tomorrow morning?" _Payback is going to be a bitch, Masen. _

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_**Chapter 14**

Edward was driving at a frightening speed.

We were on our way to Jasper's house and the bipolar Demonic Spawn was in his Mr. Hyde mode. I kept looking at the side mirror to check for a fire trail on the road that the tires might have left in the wake of his speed rage.

Edward normally drove 10-20 miles above the speed limit but right now his black mood seemed to have doubled his testosterone output; hence the juvenile need for speed.

Cold silence permeated the cab as the triple digits on speedometer glowed mockingly against the dark interior. He kept casting me side glances and I pretended to be engrossed in the architecture of the buildings passing us by in a blur.

Neither Edward nor I had said a word to each other since we got into the car. I think he was not very happy with my latest 'act of defiance'.

I closed my eyes savoring the memory of the look on Edward's face when I had arrived downstairs in a plain white tee and my worn out jeans that I had left on my last visit, plus a new pair of black converse.

It was a miracle that I had managed to find a pair of converse from the pile of all kinds of florescent pinks and patent leathers worthy of a stripper. Tanya had filled an entire wall of the closet with slutty shoes.

Edward had almost pounced on me, when he first looked at my boyish attire. Hmm…_ Plain white t-shirt: $30, Jeans: $90, Converse: free, the look on Edward's face…Priceless. _

"I remember telling you specifically that I wanted you to wear blue." He snipped while tightening his hands on the wheel. I bid farewell to my happy thoughts as I turned to look at him and noticed a vein throbbing dangerously near his temple.

"I know that you're dressed up like a tom boy just to spite me." He hissed as his liquid green eyes narrowed on me. _No shit Sherlock. _

I 'Duhh-ed' inwardly on his astute observation and sighed exasperatedly just to goad him further.

"Don't think for a second that you've won this round. I totally intend to fix this little wardrobe revolt of yours." He had a menacing look which almost doused the tiny flame of my new found self confidence. I quickly looked away from him and once again tried to concentrate on the scenery passing by.

As the road twisted and turned, my mind reeled back to the summer I spent with Jake and his parents at their ancestral home at the Quileute reservation four years back.

That summer was one of my fondest memories. Lounging all day long in Jake's make shift garage, sipping cool-aid while lying on tickling golden sand of the beach, his mom scolding both Jake and I when we'd get home in the evening with my skin all blotchy and red with sun burn.

A soft sigh escaped as I recalled the feeling of shimmering sand drifting from beneath my toes with the receding waves.

Jacob's parents and mine have been best friends for as far as I could remember. Our parents never tried to hide their desire to see Jake and me end up together. But after sharing a very awkward and borderline incestual kiss, we had both decided to never ever go down that road again.

It was the same summer I met Jake's cousin Jared who was also home for vacation after his third year at the FBI Academy in Quantico.

Jared had followed me around for all of the 3 weeks I was there, and hinted quite openly that he was interested in me. The incident with James was very fresh at that time and I had politely declined all of Jared's advances towards me.

Instead of getting bitter on rejection, Jared stayed very sweet to me and we became good friends. After the 3 weeks, when we all went back to our respective lives, I decided against keeping in touch with Jared, thinking he'd still be harboring some romantic notion about our friendship and I was in no condition to reciprocate his feelings.

Earlier in the afternoon, while I was simmering in my misery, a desperate plan formed in my mind. And after much thought and consideration, I had worked out the first step of my 'Fuck the Shit out of Edward Masen' plan.

At first it occurred to me that the only way I could escape Edward was if he were dead.

Since I didn't have it in me to even think about hurting a human being let alone kill him, I had to go for the next best thing…..getting Edward arrested for Quil's murder. I knew I couldn't risk going to the police, because James had told me that day in my office that Masens had connections in the police department.

For a moment I thought about contacting James. But Haley's angelic face made me reconsider and I crossed out James from my list of potential comrades. I could not live with my conscience if his little girl came to any harm because of me.

The next most logical candidate was Jared. He'd be an FBI agent by now. Although, I didn't see him after that summer; I remembered him being a passionate and kind person. I was sure he'd not refuse to help me.

_God it felt great to think about it. I finally had a plan._ .

The plan was simple. Get ammo against Edward; get him incarcerated for the rest of his natural born life and fly away like a free little bird. But as simple and sure shot the plan looked on paper, it'd be one hell of a feat to pull off in reality.

At first I needed tangible evidence that Edward had indeed killed a man.

Because of his diplomatic immunity he couldn't be arrested unless there was a substantial amount of incrementing evidence against him. That meant only one thing…..Quil's body must be found. And for that I needed unlimited resources and a Law enforcement officer on my side.

If Jared refused to help me or wasn't available somehow…. _No Bella! …Think positive thoughts…he'll help you, you'll make it…Edward would end up in a 6x6 cell and you'll be on the Caribbean cruise that Alice and Rose had been planning to go on since you guys were 12. _

A bone jarring jolt pulled me out of my scheming stupor as Edward brought the car to a sudden halt.

After glaring at Edward for his not so subtle parking skills, I looked outside the window and saw that we had stopped next to a fancy boutique.

"Are we getting Jasper a dress instead of wine?" I asked with genuine interest. _You never know! _

"Very cute." Edward scoffed.

"We're going to replace your ruined clothes." He informed me coolly.

"But my clothes are not…." I never got to finish my sentence as Edward bent to my side and started to tear my t-shirt from the sides.

After the 2 nanoseconds my brain took to process what he was doing, I shoved hard on his shoulders and screamed. "YOU SON OF A…."

In a flash he was in my face with his eyes burning a fierce green, his face an unnatural shade of purple with his fingers digging painfully into my shoulders. "Complete that sentence and we'll find out just how far these seats recline." _Recline? Why is he threatening me with reclining the seats? Oh…OHHH……OOHHH!!! _

He leaned in further till there was no space left between us, with his mouth near my ear and his heart beating next to mine. "Right here, in the middle of the parking lot." He chewed out every single word laced with fury.

The velvety threat carried along his hot breath felt like molten wax in my ears and I shivered to the core of my bones. I gulped a big chunk of air and willed myself to shake my head.

"Now, should we go inside and get new clothes for the lovely Mrs. Masen?" His hand crept up my nape and fisted my hair. "Or would you rather that we stay right here and christen the Vanquish?"

I was out of the car in 12 seconds.

After spending 45 minutes in the hellish boutique, we were back in the car. Edward was sporting a triumphant smirk and I was trying to pull up the front of my hyacinth blue cocktail dress that was showing way more cleavage than I actually possessed. My feet were imprisoned in the most impractical heels I'd ever seen.

Edward took great pleasure in cutting my frayed jeans to shreds with the scissors he got from the salesgirl. He also sneaked into the dressing room to 'help' me with zippers and stuff and was ecstatic that I was still wearing the damned lingerie from the cursed wedding day. I didn't tell him that those were the only clean ones I had in his bloody house.

"Bella, honey. That was our first shopping trip as a married couple." He informed me cheerfully.

After getting no response from me, he continued. "Don't you like your dress? I think you look like a tropical flower in full bloom."

"Tropical flower?" I seethed. "The only things blooming in this trampy dress are my boobs, which are going to fall out any moment."

"Don't worry." He comforted me and slid his hand on my thigh. "I was on my school's baseball team."

When I looked at him quizzically, he explained. "I'll catch them."

"Arrgghh." I screeched and slapped his hand away from my thigh.

The rest of the drive was peaceful and within minutes we were parking in the garage of an exquisite house.

"It's a very gorgeous house." I murmured in awe as I got off the car and had a clearer view. Edward walked closer to me brushed my hair off my shoulder.

"You're right." He agreed. "They are falling out."

When I looked at him staring at my plunging neckline, I cursed him under my breath and fixed the fucking dress. He chuckled and took my hand as we walked to the main door.

Edward kissed me on the cheek and knocked on the door. Jasper answered the door wearing a retro apron and we entered the foyer.

"Ahh. The newly weds!" He laughed and pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I pushed him away and he reluctantly let me go. Then he and Edward hugged for an inappropriately long time. Just when I was expecting Jasper's hand to slide down and grope Edward's ass, they broke apart.

"Bella I hope you like pot roast." Jasper took my elbow and started to guide me to the living room. "That's the only thing I can cook perfectly."

I nodded mutely and went to sit in an arm chair near the fire place.

The living room was tastefully decorated in blues and grey with a wall entirely filled with civil war memorabilia.

"I'll be a minute guys, I just have to check the roast." Jasper said while hurrying off to kitchen.

Edward walked towards me. "Honey, I have to give a call to Seth, why don't you go and join Jasper in the kitchen. I won't be long." He bent down and kissed my forehead.

I grudgingly walked in the direction Jasper had taken off. I entered a squeaky clean white and black marble kitchen. Jasper was bent over a roast in oven and was poking it with a fork.

"Do you need any help?" I asked keeping my voice indifferent.

"No thanks, I've everything under control." He answered and shoved the roast back into the flaming oven. "Let me show you the house."

Jasper walked to me and gestured me to follow him. He showed me the entire house. His house was beautifully decorated with a lot of Victorian furniture.

"And this is my favorite room." He announced as we entered a library type room. "Come on, I'll show you something."

He walked to a shelf and took three thick albums from it and walked to an arm chair.

"Take a seat." He gestured to the chair next to his and pulled a coffee table near and put all the albums on it.

"Edward is not just a friend to me. He's my brother." Jasper said quietly like he was telling me an ancient secret.

"I kind of figured it out when you threatened to drug me at the wedding." I stated sarcastically.

"Yeah, about that." Jasper sat up straighter in his chair and cleared his throat. "Bella, what I said was just in the heat of the moment. I'd never do such a thing to anyone. And you should know that if you had opted to run that day, I'd have held Edward at bay to let you get away."

"You actually want me to believe this crock of shit?" I wanted to punch him in the face.

"Yes, I do. I said what I did to get you back to Edward." He leaned towards me. "All his life people have left him alone and I didn't want you to do the same to him."

He reached out and picked up an album from the table. "Here let me show you something."

He started to show me pictures of two boys standing next to a pile of presents and a Birthday cake. The pictures were all the same and the boys kept growing throughout the pictures like a slide show.

"What do you see?" Jasper asked as I saw the last picture where both boys were 15-16 and they clearly looked like Edward and Jasper.

"I see two spoiled little rich kids on their birthdays." My answer seemed to amuse him and he chuckled. Then he quickly sobered up.

"And I see a kid celebrating his birthdays with his only friend year after year, as his parents were too busy to show up at their own son's birthdays." Jasper's eyes misted and I took a closer look at the picture again and saw Edward's sad eyes. He looked so young and vulnerable and nothing like the surly asshole he had grown into. "Edward's mother was a young Almanian woman driven only by her ambition trying to prove herself to the world that she will make her country proud of her. His dad was always busy with his own business."

He moved his hand on one of the picture where they both had arms around each other's shoulders and were smiling. "Edward I went to the same boarding house. And since his 7th birthday, he's spent every single one with me and I never saw his parents attend. They used to send him gifts and cash. Wads of cash." He finished with hate in his voice.

"Okay. So he was a poor little rich kid and now I should fall into love with him to compensate for all his mommy issues." My retort fell on deaf years as Jasper opened another album. The next picture he showed me was of the same little boys when they were 7-8 years old, with one in a hospital bed with his arm plastered and the other sleeping on the chair next to the bed.

"This was taken the day I was admitted after getting severely beat up by four senior guys in our school." Although I should be happy that Jasper got his ass kicked but seeing an innocent 8 year old on the bed broke my heart.

"Edward saved me that day. He beat up two guys and dislocated his own shoulder. I still remember his words to those boys." He smiled and closed his eyes, like he was cherishing the memory. "When he saw me on the ground getting kicked and punched, he screamed 'nobody touches my brother' and jumped in right away." He closed the album and put it back on the table.

"When I got discharged from the hospital, we went to my parents' house for a week. One day at my tree house, Edward declared that we should become brothers by blood." I slanted him a confused look and he continued smiling. "We both cut our thumbs and shook hands drenched with blood to make sure our blood was mixed."

"Enchanting." I mumbled.

"Bella, Edward is not the villain you make him to be. Perhaps in time you'll know the truth of why he acts the way he does." Jasper's tone was soft with a hint of reproach. "He is one of the best mans I know, who fight everything to uphold their honor and loyalty. I know you despise him because he forced you to marry him. Believe me he would have asked you on a date like a normal guy but he's bound by traditions."

When I rolled my eyes Jasper put a hand on my arm. "What is it about him that you dislike the most?"

"I saw him kill a man." I whispered quietly.

"What?" Jasper gaped at my confession.

"A week ago, he killed a guy in his house. Right in front of me. His name was Quil."

"Bella, Edward told me about him. He was a rapist and an ex convict." Jasper defended his brother giving out sound reasons for slaying someone in cold blood in broad daylight.

"That does not give him the right to play judge, jury and executioner." I spat bitterly. "He threatens me with my family's lives every single moment of the day."

"He's afraid that you'll leave him the moment he lets his guard down." Jaspers hand moved to my back and he started to rub it soothingly. "He'll never ever hurt anyone dear to you. You should have realized it by now."

Jasper got off from his seat and crouched over me. "Bella, you don't have to fear him. Just give him a chance please. He is not the bad guy."

Maybe it was the damned birthday pictures or the band of brothers story Jasper told me that had overwhelmed me and I laid my head on his chest and started to sob silently.

I cried for myself, I cried for the boy who waited for his parents to show up for his birthdays, I cried for the boys cutting their hands in a tree house with unclean knife to declare undying loyalty to each other.

"It'll be okay sweetheart." Jasper cooed as he encircled his arms around me and patted my hair. "You'll forget all this when you find out the truth."

"What truth?" I asked through sobs.

"That you've married a hero, not a villain." Jasper smiled slyly and kissed my forehead.

"The only thing wrong with Edward is that he follows his Almanian heritage to the word."

I could see that his unconditional love for Edward had blinded him to the fact that he was a murderer and a mobster. "I think you should check on your roast." I pushed him away embarrassed on how readily I cried these days.

"Come on. We'll check on it together." He quickly got up and tugged me by my arm to follow him. "You did offer to help." He reminded me with a smile.

I helped Jasper in making salad and transferring the pot roast to the serving dish. We had an easy conversation while setting up the table. Edward joined us just as I was putting glasses on the table.

"Jasper, are you making my wife work as a maid?" He scowled playfully at Jasper.

"Yeah, I' m teaching her how to run a household properly, now that she's a married woman." Jasper answered grinning at me.

"I don't think Edward needs help in housebreaking me. He's doing pretty well on his own." I chimed in acidly.

Jasper's smile vanished and Edward's jaw tensed. I pulled out a chair and plopped down like a stubborn child. Jasper and Edward sat on my either sides quietly.

The dinner was a quite affair with just a sentence or two spoken from all 3 of us.

"Edward, I thought Seth was also coming." Jasper asked between bites.

"Yes, he wanted to but there was something in the house that caught his attention." Edward replied and winked at him. _Probably more bodies to get rid of. _

After dinner, Jasper served ice-cream cake with coffee and we moved to living room. Jasper told some funny stories of their childhood I started to feel at ease with him. It was getting harder by the minute to dislike him.

"Bella, love. It's getting late. Should we go?" Edward asked as he took my hand. I nodded half heartedly.

"I'll bring the car to the entrance so you don't have to walk to the garage in your new heels." He said adoringly kissing the back of my hand leaving it tingling.

"Okay Jazzy, I'll see you next weekend." Edward hugged Jasper and walked to the main door.

"So, Bella, are we friends?" Jasper asked shyly. I pretended to think over it as we walked to the main door.

I stopped when we reached the door and turned to him. "Yes, we're friends. And thank you for a nice evening."

"Does this mean I could call Alice?" He asked like a boy wanting a red bike for Christmas.

"Okay." I smiled. "You can call her, but if you hurt her, I'll shove bamboo….." His chuckle cut me off.

"Yeah I know that castration threat of yours by heart. You don't need to repeat yourself." He bent down and kissed my cheek. "Welcome to the family little sister."

Edward's car screeched to a halt in the drive way and I walked towards the passenger door. Jasper opened the door for me and closed it after I was seated.

We said goodbyes and Edward started to drive home.

"I want a car tomorrow morning." I broke the uncomfortable silence as we got close to the house.

"Seth will take you where ever you want to go." Edward said glancing at me.

"Where are you going?" He asked casually but I knew that he was dying with curiosity.

"I promised to meet my friend Jacob for breakfast at a café." I knew I was treading on dangerous territory here as Edward was the most insanely jealous guy I had come across.

"Would you go out to lunch with me afterwards?" I knew better than to refuse him and invite his anger.

"Yes, you can pick me at one."

When we reached home, Edward went to see Seth and I went upstairs. Once in my bedroom, I stepped out of the blue dress and put on a decent set of pajamas. After visiting the bathroom I walked to the room hoping to just fall into warm bed and doze off.

"We won't be sleeping here tonight." Edward declared as he strode into the room. "Come on, I have a surprise for you."

I was dead tired so I let him pull me after him. He took me to the end of hall and we started on a staircase leading up to the rooftop.

"Where are we going?" I asked a bit alarmed. _Relax Bella; he won't push you off the roof. Would he???_

"You'll like it." He replied cryptically as he tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me onto the open roof.

At first my eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness, and then I saw something glowing faintly in the center and heard soft piano notes drifting in the air like a lover's sighs.

I followed Edward carefully as my eyes adjusted to the dark. After getting closer, I saw that it was a bed with a canopy of flowers over it. It was surrounded by 4 small columns piled with candles. On one of the column there was an I-Home playing Clare De Lune.

The bed was covered with ivory colored bed cover embroidered with whispers of gold and splashed with rose petals. The whole scene looked like it stepped out of a fairytale.

"Do you like the surprise?" Edward whispered silkily in my ear and I shivered.

"It's beautiful." I answered hypnotized.

His arms snaked possessively around me. "No, you're beautiful."

Edward loosened his hold around me and started to walk to the altar err, bed.

When we got near, he pulled away the cover halfway and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked up at me and I saw his face in the moonlight and the waning golden light of the candles. For a moment I didn't see the man who had forced me to marry him, I only saw the vulnerable little boy who had waited for his parents on his birthdays, a boy who defended his friend from bullies twice his size, a boy who forged a blood bond out of fierce loyalty towards his loved one. My eyes brimmed with tears for that little boy.

As I looked into his eyes, I saw those warm green eyes full of promises. Promise of love, promise that he'll never leave me, promise that he'll always protect me, and promise that I'll be cherished as long as he's alive.

He offered his hand to me palm up. My hand reached out as if it had a mind of its own and Edward clasped it firmly and pulled me into his lap.

"Please don't protest." He said pleadingly. "I need to love you, please don't fight me. Give in just for tonight." He murmured as his nose skimmed across my throat. _Just for tonight…..my heart begged…just one night, go back to hating him come daylight… _

I was melting under his touch and just for once I didn't want to fight him against loving me. He scooted back with me safely tucked in his arms. As he got to the center, he sank into the covers pushing me down with him.

I felt his warm breath on my neck as he laid trails of whisper soft kisses along it. His hands reached down to the hem of my shirt and he lifted it slowly. After discarding my shirt, he quickly undressed himself and focused his attention back to undressing me.

He dipped his head and my lips parted in anticipation. His lips felt warm and inviting, his tongue slid into my mouth, devouring me….body and soul. I was unaware of his busy hands until I felt my pajamas around my ankle. _Wow, he's good. _

I lost my lingerie next and then we were both stark naked, safely cocooned in the covers under the milky moonlight and the golden stars. He moved almost on top of me and his kisses became urgent and his hands began to roam all over me.

His head dipped down as he hungrily nipped and sucked on my breasts. I moaned aloud shamelessly. His hand moved to where his mouth was as his lips once again claimed mine.

"God, you taste heavenly." He grunted between kisses. My senses were completely overridden by the all consuming lust I was feeling right now.

"I can't wait any longer." He croaked out just as I felt his full grown need for me. His hand curled behind my nape and his kisses got deeper and feverish.

I felt his knee nudging my legs apart. Within moments we both groaned as he entered me.

"I want to stay inside you forever." He whispered huskily. As he started to move over me with a rhythm, the last shred of sanity left me and I let the wanton side of me take over.

We seemed to move together for hours, and then the sensations skyrocketed. I screamed as jolts of pleasure passed through my entire body. Edward bit on a sensitive patch beneath my ear as he started to pulsate violently inside me.

For just a moment the time was frozen, there were no threats, no defiance, no hate, no insane customs….

"That was…" Edward panted.

"Out of the world." I supplied, still dazed and a little disoriented. Afterwards we lay together in the musical silence.

"Go to sleep my love." Edward kissed my forehead reverently. He pulled the cover, tucking us completely under it and coiled his arms around me and sighed happily.

Within moments we were both asleep under the stars and the moon.

Next morning, I woke up in Edward's arms with the bed bathing in golden sun rays.

I got startled when I saw Leah standing on the side looking extremely uncomfortable with a robe on her hand.

"Mr. Masen instructed me to get you a robe in the morning." She stammered. I laughed out loud as I realized that Edward had made her see to it that I didn't tread downstairs naked. She literally tossed me my robe and ran away in embarrassment.

I extracted myself from Edward's arms carefully so I don't wake him up in the process. After successfully getting off the bed, I hurriedly went downstairs and got ready to go see Jake.

Seth drove me to the café and the burly body guard rode with us. Seth said he'll wait outside as I went in the cafe.

I was now sitting across Jake with my caramel latte steaming in front of me, I flushed crimson as last night's visions flashed across my mind.

"I think Coyote should sue ACME." Jake mused loudly in all seriousness and I finally paid attention to him.

"On what grounds?" I asked just as seriously, playing along.

"Faulty material, emotional distress, bodily harm and for making an ass out of him in front of millions of viewers." Jake replied and I chuckled unable to keep up the serious charade.

When we were around 6 years old, Jake and I used to watch the 'road runner' quite religiously. We were fascinated by the lengths Wile E. Coyote would go to entrap the Road Runner. His obsession with the bird was mind boggling and we used to debate for hours on how in God's name was he able to afford all those crazy gadgets from ACME? I mean with the amount of money he used to spend on all his ludicrous mail orders, he could have bought himself an upscale restaurant and have all the delicious gourmet stuffed birds his heart desired….leaving that poor road runner to live fear free.

For a long time, that was our only genuine concern.

Ah, to be young and oblivious….. With no insanely possessive spouses, mafias, crime rates, murders or rapes jolting us awake in the middle of night.

We never did find out about the reason for Coyote's obsession with the road runner, but we both found a life long friend watching all his catastrophically futile chases.

"So, Swan." Jake's deep brown eyes shifted to me. "A little pixie told me that Don Corleone Jr. is intending to make an honest woman out of you."

"His name is Edward." I tried to blow through the foam to cool up my coffee a bit. "And yes, we're engaged."

"Hmph." Jake's brows knitted as he seemed to mull over my reply.

"Is there a stork on the way?" he asked matter of factly.

"Yes." I spat sarcastically. "I've just met him last Monday and I m already carrying his twins."

"Awe!! I love twins. They're fun to be around. I hope they're girls." Jake flashed his teeth and patted my shoulder in mock enthusiasm.

"You're a jack ass." I pulled his hand off my shoulder. "I m not pregnant, you brain of flea."

"Then where's the fire?" He asked in a very serious voice.

"Jake is it too much to ask of my best friend to be happy for me?" I had maxed out my patience and if I had to convince one more person that I was in love with Edward, I swear to God, I'll impale myself on a pogo stick.

"Are you happy?" His eyes narrowed as he checked me all over for physical signs of happiness.

"Of course, I' m." I went through the speech I had prepared for this especial event.

"Edward completes me." _There I said it… that's the best I could come up with._

"He completes you? What is that shit even supposed to mean?" Jake was gaping at me.

Ugh… I knew that cheesy line would come back to bite me in the ass.

"Bella, you're not making any sense. Did you hit your head hard in the accident, which by the way nobody bothered to tell me about."

"The bloody accident was just a bump in my head. You know I hate being the center of attention so I asked everyone to keep it under the covers." I replied apologetically pouting a bit. Jake was always a sucker for pouts.

"It's okay. You can stop giving me that puppy eyed face now. You're forgiven." Jake smiled and stole one of my muffins. "Now back to your impromptu engagement. I was told that Edward proposed to you with your dad in the next room and then you guys ignored the fact that Charlie was indeed in the next room and consummated the engagement."

"Several times, according to my sources." He added with a dramatic arching of his brow.

I gingerly moved my coffee to the side and banged my head on the table. _Ouch…_

"Alice?" I asked the table top.

"Yup." Jake confirmed popping the 'p'.

"She's a gossip whore." I mumbled with my head still on the table.

I raised my head to find Jake looking at me expectantly. I drew in a long breath and started my web of lies.

"Edward says that he fell in love with me when he saw me for the first time. And I admit that I also had some strong feelings for him." I paused and started to tear apart the last lonely bagel on the plate. "After my accident, he said that he couldn't bear to lose me and when he proposed, I said yes."

"There, now you know." I finished my story and started to pop small bits of bagel in my mouth. "You can start making fun of how impulsive and juvenile all of this is." I stared at him, daring him to contradict me.

"I don't think that was juvenile." Jake's eyes had an odd gleam. "Spontaneous and romantic, but not juvenile."

"I used to worry a lot for you that somehow James had robbed you of your ability to love." Jake admitted sadly. "But I can see that you're in love with Edward." _Must not snort!!! _

"So, when do I get to meet your fiancé?" Jake asked.

"He's coming to pick me at 1 for lunch."

"Good. I have to find out if he's worthy of you or not." He offered nonchalantly but I didn't doubt the sincerity in his words.

"Yeah. Good luck with that." I mumbled and resumed sipping my coffee.

We sat there and talked about Billy and Charlie. I told him how Charlie had reacted to the news of engagement and he assured me he'll help me smooth things over with my dad.

"A state of the art new fishing Sonar System." Jake started to list the ingredients for the perfect way to lure Charlie out of his brooding. "And I'll ask my dad to knock some sense into him."

"Thanks Jakey, I knew you were good for something." I gave him an appraising pat on the shoulder.

Now, I just had to find where Jared was now a days.

"Hey, how's that cousin of yours?" I asked him as I pretended to check my nails.

"Which one?"

"Jared." I replied.

"You still remember him?" Jake asked with a smile.

"Of course I do. We kind of became good friends that summer." I answered.

"Then you'll be glad to know that he's in here in New York."

"He is?" I didn't even bother to conceal my excitement.

Jake's brow quirked but then relaxed. "Yes. He's assigned on some case here in New York. I haven't met him yet but my mom has called 43 times, ordering me to show him around the town."

"I'd love to see him again." Act normal Bella. Don't let your desperation show. "Maybe you could ask him to lunch tomorrow?"

Jake scratched his chin and hmmm-ed for 2 seconds. "That's not a bad idea. It'll also get mom off my back."

"Great. So what's new on the dating front for Mr. Black?"

"I' m kind of seeing someone." He muttered vaguely.

"And?" I tried to encourage him to continue.

"She's a client." He replied lowering his head a bit. "Yours to be exact."

"Mine? Which one?" I asked but he didn't answer me.

Not knowing what was bothering him, I decided to just comfort him. "It's okay Jake, Edward is also a client at our firm, but I don't think it'll get in the way of my professional life."

"It's not that. Actually she's recently been widowed and sometimes I feel like I' m the rebound dude." His hand went into hair. I knew he had a nasty habit of pulling his thick black hair whenever he was tensed.

"Who?" My voice got annoyingly nasal as my curiosity piqued.

"Nessie. Err Vanessa, her brother in law is suing her."

"Nessie huh? So, things have been going on for a while?" I said teasingly.

"I saw her in a coffee shop last week; we got the only available booth to sit down. We just kind of clicked. When she told me about her brother in law, I recommended you to her." Jake explained.

"I' m happy for you Jake, she seemed like a nice person."

"She's the best." Jacob grinned cheekily. "Now get up so I could hug you to congratulate you properly."

I laughed as I got up and walked into his waiting arms.

"Don't grope." I warned playfully. "I'll kick your ass if you do."

"Don't tempt me." Jake growled playfully as he crushed me with his strong arms.

"She only tempts me." An icy shiver slithered down my spine as I heard Edward's velvety voice and I gently pushed Jake away.

"Umm Edward, I thought you were picking me up at 12." I walked towards him and leaned upto kiss his cheek. _Please don't go ballistic....it was just a harmless hug. _

"You forgot to say Good bye to me." Edward said as his gaze slipped from me to Jacob.

* * *

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